Burning Obsession
by One-Week Wizard
Summary: Remembering the oath that she swore centuries ago, Mokou has finally decided to end the conflict once and for all.
1. The Oath Renewed

A/N: My first story, and to say that I'm not eager to hear feedback would be a complete lie.

I first posted this on a non-Touhou forum, hence the mass amounts of explanation, but I'm planning on cleaning that up when I have time.

Please bear with me, as I know that I'm not going to win any prizes for this, but I am trying... :D

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**Prologue: The Oath Renewed**

Fujiwara no Mokou, the name that belonged to the human girl that lived centuries ago...

Fujiwara no Mokou, the name that belongs to the immortal... creature... of today.

Fujiwara no Mokou, the name that belongs to me, neither human nor demon. Neither satisfied nor unhappy.

Fujiwara no Mokou, sworn enemy of Kaguya Houraisan, the people of Eientei, and all who associate with that witch.

I don't exactly know what led up to the events of my life, if I am indeed still living my human life, but I know that I will never forget the days of my human lifespan.

Princess Kaguya, the Lunarian fugitive (though I didn't know this at the time), had come to Earth seeking refuge. Seeing as how she was a princess, with an appearance unimaginable to us "simpletons" from Earth, she was the target every man in the village aimed for.

Naturally, one of those men was my father. And, just as naturally, she rejected him out of her own arrogance, leading him to suicide.

I, the daughter of a disgraced woodcutter, had my fate decided at that very moment. As a humble maiden, I wanted only one thing.

_Revenge._ Revenge for the disgrace. Revenge for driving me to drink that accursed Hourai Elixir. Revenge for my immortality, and the times I have been beaten past the point of a mortal death, yet still survived. Revenge for the eternity I have spent planning your demise, one step at a time.

However, if it were that easy, her wretched body would be decorating the floor of her very own den of cowardice. The witch and I are closer than I'd like to admit, thanks to that sage...

Because she also drank the elixir, she too is immune to death. Therefore, I must find a fate worse than death, a divine punishment more horrifying than the Netherworld itself. I shall not be an avenging angel, I shall simply be the one who gives people their due.

Kaguya Houraisan, accursed witch princess of the moon, I, Fujiwara no Mokou, shall have you suffer by my hands, and cure us of our immortality by my own blade. I swear this on the grave of my father, and on the honor of the Fujiwara Clan.

Kaguya's head shall be mine before the next full moon.


	2. Keine

**Chapter 1: Keine**

Human Village  
Afternoon of the 14th Day

Thirteen centuries...  
Even now, that length of time seems staggering. Humans weren't meant to live that long, which is why I no longer call myself a human. Rather, I am an anachronism in this world. A relic of the older times, when enemies were enemies for life, and forgiveness was attained by blood. This is why people find it so hard to understand me. They are too young.

Breaking out of my inner monologue, I realized that my thoughts had somehow carried me to the house of Keine Kamishirasawa, guardian of the Human Village, and one of my most trusted friends.

After knocking on her door, I heard a series of heavy thumps, which I took to be her footsteps. As the door flew open, I was greeted by a look of absolute fury, which was instantly replaced by a more cheerful smile. "Ah, Mokou!" she said, scanning the road behind me, "I thought you were another one of those rabbits, come to play a prank on me. They've been really active lately, thanks to the fact that the full moon festival is tomorrow evening... Anyway, come on in. I just started making tea."

Thanking her, I stepped inside, and took a moment to look around.

I should mention that the Keine I knew was a schoolteacher, no more, no less. The last time I was here, her walls were mostly bare, with a few scrolls concerning grammatical rules, or the village history. Now, it seemed that her home had been commandeered by one of the mages that lives in the forest, judging by her redecoration. Maps, lunar charts, and runes covered her walls, leaving only a few square inches of exposed wall. A dramatic change from the Keine that I knew.

"Like it?" she asked, noticing the fact that I was staring. "A few months ago, I probably would have never allowed my house to be anything besides absolutely plain, save for the necessities. But after the Full Moon Incident, I realized that I should most likely be prepared in case I was needed again. After all, as a were-hakutaku, I should know the source of my strength, correct?"

"That would be wise, for Eientei-"

"Eientei is all the way out _there_," Keine said, pointing in the direction of the woods I called home, "and I'm in here. Eientei has less impact on my life than the phases of Io."

"For Eientei," I continued, "has certainly taught us the power of the moon. In fact, due to the fact that we supply them, we should request their help in the defense of this village, so you don't have to shoulder the entire burden."

"As if I need those rabbits here more often!" Keine shouted, unable to keep herself from venting any longer. "Master Eirin needs this, Master wants to sell that... Why am I the de facto leader of this village? I can't get any rest anymore, between teaching, trading, and training. I'm going to become crazier than that lunatic rabbit if this keeps up!"

'In that case, we should pay them a visit. And while we're at it, we should help prepare for the full moon festival. After thirteen centuries, I don't think I have the will to devote all my energy to hating them anymore."

"Ahh, that sounds good..." a muffled voice responded, as Keine stuck her head into her closet, looking for something to put tea cups on. "Let's see... Here we go!" Looking infinitely more cheerful than she had a second ago, Keine held up the two pieces of cloth with a large grin. "It's all I have, because everything else has been carried off by the rabbits at one point or another, but it'll do. It won't change the taste of the tea, after all."

For the first time in decades, I was going to have tea with a good friend. One of the best I've ever had in over a millennium of living. One that I would inevitable watch go through life and perish. Unless, of course, I discovered the cure for my immortality...


	3. The Forest of the Lost

A/N: Yep, it's quite a bit longer than the last chapter. Thank you very much for reading this far.

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**Chapter 2: The Forest of the Lost**

Keine's House  
Afternoon of the 14th Day

"So," Keine said, as we both sat down a few minutes later, "you're planning on hiking to Eientei, alone, and just waltzing in to see Kaguya?"

"I can go alone," I said taking a large sip of the tea. As always, Keine's tea tasted good, but was a little too cool. "After all, I've lived in the Forest of the Lost all my life. I know the way to Eientei."

"That's not my point..." Keine muttered, looking slightly worried. "Though I'm in favor of making peace, you can't overlook the fact that the woman _ordered your assassination_. To me, that doesn't exactly signal a good relationship between you two."

Honestly, I actually had forgotten about that. I remember so little of last month that the assassination attempt (well, four of them on the same night) had almost slipped my mind. "Right..." I said, thinking to myself. "Well... I'm sure if you went with me, they would at least allow me in. After all, you have the most dealings with them, and not even Lunarians would defy the basic code of hospitality, so it should be good."

"If you think so, Mokou..." Keine said, her voice still full of apprehension. "Okay, I'll go with you. But remember, the full moon is tomorrow night, so it wouldn't be in our best interest to pick a fight this evening."

"Understood. Like I said, I want to make peace. Do you think we could leave tonight?"

"Tonight...?" Keine trailed off, as she became even less certain. "Through the Forest of the Lost, on the night before the full moon? Are you sure?"

"Positive. Most of the actual threats were cleared out earlier, so we should be okay, if we stick to the path. It's my home." Taking a moment to muster up more courage, I added, "And if we have anything to fear, it's the destination, not the journey."

Human Village  
Evening of the 14th Day

After packing, setting things up for her absence, leaving notes for whoever might stop by, and grabbing a few magical artifacts, Keine was finally on her doorstep, adjusting her hat on her head (nowadays, it has become common for people of importance to wear overly decorative hats on their heads. Keine's, for example, looks like a miniaturized pagoda), and eating a meat bun. "Ready?" she asked, trying to sound like she had been waiting for this moment for years.

"Indeed," I responded, distractedly. I had almost lost sight of my true intentions, and I still didn't know what I would do once I actually reached Eientei. Admittedly, I hadn't thought too far past meeting Kaguya, though that was an important starting point. After all, it is best to know one's enemy, as a Chinese strategist once said.

"Right, let's go."

As we walked out of the village, we were both completely silent, thinking about what we were planning to do. Even though I told Keine that the forest was mostly safe, we both knew that it was still crawling with all sorts of things that wouldn't mind a light snack. Naturally, this didn't make either of us feel better.

"What's wrong?" Keine asked, after we had already gone about half a mile into the forest. "I didn't think it was worth mentioning, but you seemed to be more reserved recently, like you're not telling me something. I thought it was weird, because I sort of figured that you would've seen it all by now, but..."

"Huh? Oh, it's really nothing. I'm just thinking about everyone I've known over my lifetime. The founder of the village, the old Hakurei shrine maidens..."

"I've never really thought about that before, how you would have known everyone of note in recorded history. You should come by the school some time, and help teach. It'd be great to-"

"I was never very close to any of them. I knew of them, yes, but I never actually knew most of them personally, so I don't think I would be much help. And besides, I doubt that I would remember much of what I did know, anyway." I looked over to see Keine nodding slightly, unable to think of anything else to say. It was silent for a few more minutes, and then...

"Eight o' clock." Keine muttered, looking around.

"Pardon?"

"It's only eight, judging by the position of the moon, and it's already this dark? With a near-full moon, it should be relatively bright all night, but I can barely see the path..."

She was right, which sent a chill down my spine, which was about as bad of a sign as I can possible imagine. I lived in this forest, so I was always at ease here. Now, however, my intuition was telling me that something was off. The forest was never this dark, owing to the fact that it was a bamboo forest, rather than dense woods.

"Keine..." I muttered loud enough for her to hear, as I slowly scanned my surroundings. Should that shadow be that dark...? "Duck when I tell you..." I whispered, watching her with my peripheral vision to see if she understood. "And..." I slipped a piece of paper into my hand, "NOW!"

Keine dropped to the ground with a thud, watching me carefully.

"PHOENIX TAIL!" I screamed, whipping out the card, as it exploded into a pillar of flame in front of me.

* * *

**The Spellcard System**-

Before I go on, I should explain what just happened.

In the old days, magic was only available to the few who had the perseverance to memorize lengthy incantations, complex runes, and dozens of rules regarding chanting. Additionally, because magic is, at best, very unstable, the caster would need a sizable amount of energy to contain and direct the spell.

About three years ago, Hakurei Kanna, the previous shrine maiden, invented a new system of spellcasting. To put it plainly, the caster would focus the magic into an item, rather than their own hands, and use that to contain the spell. Over time, people started drawing runes and writing incantations onto cheap pieces of paper, in order to spare them the effort of reciting the chants from memory.

This eventually developed into spellcards, which have become the staple of every magic-user's arsenal. And, because of the ease of use, magic has become accessible to anyone with a little patience and a little bit of intelligence, rather than only the select few who could devote their lives.

Although it was beautiful to see it open up to everyone, this also meant that duels were now fought with great destructive power, rather than simply crossing swords. Over time, the use of spellcards would be strictly regulated, but that's another story.

Now to get back to the CURRENT story...

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The flames shot through the darkness, hitting a thick patch of pure black, which is what I had been aiming for.

As a high-pitched scream was heard, the black spot faded to reveal a yellow-haired (I say "yellow" and not "blond" because it truly was yellow, more like an ear of corn than a grain of wheat) girl angrily brushing some ashes off of her pitch black outfit.

"You fool!" she shrieked, her eyes burning brighter than even my flames, "What in the world would possess you to attack an innocent bystander like that? All fools will be punished accordingly!"

I realized now that I had picked a fight with the infamous Youkai of Darkness herself, Rumia.

Naturally, I would be more scared, but, as I said, this was my home.


	4. Youkai of the Earth, Inaba of the Moon

A/N: I just remembered, I should probably also give credit where credit is due. This story was largely inspired by My Body Wishes That You Burn to the Moon, by IOSYS.

Anyway, I enjoyed reading the one review that I've gotten (so far). It's awesome to have people read this so soon after uploading it!

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**Chapter 3: Youkai of the Earth, Inaba of the Moon**

Forest of the Lost  
Evening of the 14th Day

"An innocent bystander?" Keine screamed back, wiping the dirt off of her clothes. As a school teacher, few things irritated her more than a dirty appearance. Among those few things, of course, was a nocturnal ambush. "You're... You're that monster that keeps eating people from the village! You're-"

"...and?" Rumia replied, cutting Keine off as she was warming up. That was enough to stop Keine dead in her tracks, a simple "...and?" Taking the opening, Rumia smirked, and clasped her hands behind her back, laughing maliciously. "Humans kill youkai, youkai eat humans. Even someone like you can understand that, right?"

As she said this, Keine's face went through three shades of red, as she clenched her fists. Understandable, of course, because any human would get angry if they were talked down to by someone so low in the food chain.

"That's still no reason to-" Keine started to counter, before I cut her off.

"Keine, this isn't the time to show off your intellect. Just kill her." I sighed, knowing that Keine and Rumia would go at it all night if left alone. One's a child, another is a schoolteacher. But why was Rumia holding her hands that way? It's not normal for-

"I'm bored, I'm hungry, and I'm running late for dinner..." Rumia said, crossing her arms in front of her, although she was suspiciously quick to clasp her hands together again. The reason for this was soon obvious... "Anyway, let's make it quick. Moonlight Ray!" She drew a card from her sleeve, as I had done, and discharged a white laser, which narrowly missed Keine's hat, but ended up shaving off a little bit of the ribbon in my hair.

That ribbon was from one of the greatest leaders I have ever known.

Curse her... I like that ribbon.

After the initial shock, and with the afterimage still in my eyes, I simply reacted. Taking a risk, I held out my hands, readying a quick burst of fire. To choose, draw, and activate a spellcard would take too much time. After producing a small burst of flame, not even reaching half way, I calmed down, collected my thoughts, and nearly choked on my words as I watched Keine tackle Rumia.

"You SCOUNDREL!" Keine screamed with rage, as she jumped onto our foe. "Are you really so stupid that you don't even know of the spell card system? I should just... Just... Drop whatever other weapons you have, and leave now, before I... Get... Get out of here..." She tried to slow down her breathing, as she emphasized each word with a slap in the face. Clearly, she needed to blow off a lot more steam than I did, so I simply stepped back and let her take care of it.

"Mokou, hurry up! We're going!" Standing up again, Keine stepped over the nearly unconscious Rumia, and continued down the path.

"Wait, let me just take care of her..." I replied, walking over to the 'legendary' Master of Darkness, picking her up, and dropping her on her head. _Now_ she was unconscious, and out of our hair. After wrestling the urge to unleash a spell and finish her off, I merely took whatever spells that I could out of her pockets, and ran to catch up with Keine.

"Thank you," we both began. Keine fell silent and waited for me to continue. "To be honest," I said, stepping over a fallen tree, "I probably would have ended up burning down the immediate area if I had fought her. Your method was much... quicker, and more efficient."

"And," Keine replied, still red in the face, though for a completely different reason, "I would have become one of the disappearances in the village. Though, to be honest, you did shoot first, which isn't the most reasonable way to deal with youkai."

"It's the most direct, as we both know," I shot back, and we both continued on in silence.

A few minutes later, we began casual conversation to distract us, and we reached Eientei about an hour later, stopping only once to take care of a sparrow (who, although made good yakitori, is not even worth mentioning here) on the way.

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Eientei, the House of Eternity  
The 14th Night

"Ahh, I'd almost forgotten how impressive it looked..." Keine muttered, standing in front of the large courtyard. As usual, Kaguya worked her slaves to exhaustion to keep up appearances.

"The great asylum for fugitives... It has been a while, hasn't it?" I added, scanning the area.

"Oh, hey Keine!" a strained, tired voice called out to us. Following it was Reisen Udongein Inaba, the leader of the rabbits of Eientei. Upon seeing me, she stopped, furrowed her brow, and bent back her last three fingers, as she always did before a fight. "Fujiwara no Mokou," she glared at me, making sure I was listening, "explain your presence immediately."

"She's with me, Reisen," Keine explained, stepping between the two of us. "We thought we'd help out with Reigetsusai, seeing as how it's tomorrow night."

"This will require clearance with the Princess, and even then, you will most likely come in alone, considering your history with my master."

"I accept your terms," I mumbled, counting the granules of dirt on the ground.

"Very well, wait here."

Rethinking my plan, or lack thereof, I wondered whether or not the full moon was affecting me. After all, what sane person would abandon a life that had just started to become peaceful, all for the sake of rekindling an old feud, with nothing to immediately gain?

Or maybe I had just stared into that rabbit's eyes for too long...


	5. Eientei

**Chapter 4: Eientei**  
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Eientei  
The 14th Night

A few minutes later, Reisen returned, with another of my targets behind her. Eirin Yagokoro, the sage, medic, primary defender and de facto leader of Eientei, and Kaguya's right hand woman. Unlike Reisen, Eirin has been in Eientei since the beginning of the Lunarian-Earth relations, pampering my mortal enemy for centuries. Needless to say, I have tried to kill her a few times as well, mainly because I'm still not sure whether or not she shares the cursed existence that I do. Also needless to say, I'm not one of her favorite people.

"Oh," she said simply, taking a moment to size me up, which was more out of habit than necessity, because she was widely considered to be one of the smartest beings between the Earth and the moon. "We do not need help with the Lunar Festival," she said calmly, looking almost bored, "and if we did, you would not be much help, Mokou. Keine, do you have any other business? I doubt you came all this way out of the goodness of your heart."

Seeing that she was at a disadvantage against Eirin, Keine bowed humbly, thought for a moment, and responded, "We have come to speak with Kaguya about ending the feud with Mokou." Looking up, she waited for a reply, biting her lip.

Sighing, Eirin motioned for Reisen, who had gone back to work, to come over to us. "Reisen, you are momentarily excused from your duties, and are to watch these two while I go get Kaguya." Without waiting for a reply, she turned around and walked into the compound, the moonlight reflecting off of her pure white hair.

"Right, then," Reisen mumbled, looking at us. "I see Keine every other day, but it's kind of weird to have you here, Mokou. Err, to have you here as a visitor, I should say. Why do you two hate each other so much, anyway?"

I couldn't exactly blame her for asking. Our feud was known throughout the area, but few people knew it's actual reason. Most of the older beings, having lived back when it started, knew the cause, but Reisen had only come to Earth recently. So, having nothing better to do, I answered her question.

"When your princess first came to Earth, she had a bad habit of surrounding herself with potential suitors. Because of her rejection, most suitors killed themselves. My father was one of those. As such, I wanted to destroy Houraisan and all her associates, to exact revenge for my shame." Fearing that I would be turned away because of this, I quickly added, "Of course, over centuries, it has become more of a fact of life than anything else..."

"I see..." Reisen muttered, twisting her hair in thought. "To have lived that long... I can't imagine how you and Kaguya can stand it."

"I can't." That was it. No elaboration, fancy words, dramatic statements... Just the truth. I hated this life, hated the immortality. There had to be something to counteract this Lunar medicine. Maybe something from the Netherworld...?

"Ahh, Mokou!" a familiar voice screamed, before the voice broke into a giggle. A few seconds later, the owner of that voice, Kaguya Houraisan, appeared in the courtyard. "It's been a while, I'll admit. It's very refreshing to see you and not have to defend myself." Was she making casual conversation, or was she taunting me? Knowing that witch, I'd bet the latter. I couldn't give in, and give her the advantage. Every move she made spoke volumes of her true intentions...

Bowing to Kaguya, I repressed a smirk. "It's very nice to meet you on friendly terms. It has been so long since I could say that... How long has it been, Princess?"

"Fourteen centuries," Eirin said sharply, shooting me a venomous look. "And I wouldn't call this a friendly visit, Fujiwara no Mokou. After all, both parties have not agreed to end this feud, which Eientei barely even acknowledges, and your apology alone cannot hope to atone for the damage you've done." She was on to me, but, fortunately, her friend wasn't the genius that she was.

"Eirin, the festival is tomorrow night! Even if Mokou wanted to kill us all, which she couldn't for two reasons, we are still obligated to at least extend our hospitality. After all, isn't there a Rule of Hospitality, or something?"

"Very well," Eirin said coolly, though any other person would be saying that through gritted teeth. "I will have rooms prepared for the two, and will agree to treat them as guests during the festival."

"We thank you profusely," Keine said, smiling a little bit larger than was probably necessary.

"I know you do, Kamishirasawa, and I welcome you into our home." Behind her smile, Eirin was still making it very clear that she would attempt to cure me of my problem if I messed up even slightly.

"I graciously accept your hospitality, Houraisan and Yagokoro. I will attempt to not make a nuisance of myself," I replied, still eagerly awaiting the day I would somehow slay Kaguya, once and for all.

"Please don't, if you can..." Reisen muttered, walking past me with a bucket of water. "It would make my job so much easier..." She stopped and took our things inside, without another word.

"Come in, then!" Kaguya shouted joyfully, waving her arms. "Or, if you want, I could send out a horde of rabbits to try and detain you. It would be fun to watch, and I'm getting slightly bored. Of course, I know they'd fail, but as they say, 'What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.' Though that not be the right saying for me to use..."

In spite of myself, I laughed. It was always amusing to watch Kaguya trip over her logic, which is why Eirin was indispensable for her. For her sake, I dearly hoped that Eirin drank that elixir.

Unburdened, Keine and I followed our hosts (and my enemies) inside, eagerly awaiting the bedrolls that had been prepared for us.

It had been a long day for the both of us. For the residents of Eientei, the next few days would seem like yet another eternity, or I would be disgraced yet again.

Eientei  
Midnight of the 15th Day

"It's been so long..."

Waking up from my sleep, though still extremely tired, I stood up and looked around for the source of that voice. Looking out of the opening in my room, I recognized that long, black hair in the moonlight. Silently walking out to the courtyard, I saw Kaguya, now lying flat on her back, staring up at the moon.

"I wonder how this all started... Why I was foolish enough to drink that in the first place..." she muttered, sounding distant.

"I wonder the same thing as well," I broke in, causing her to jump to her feet and take a few steps back in shock. As she took a deep breath to scream for Eirin, I sat down and quickly tried to stop her. "I'm not here to attack you. After all, why would I assassinate you if my goal is to restore my family name? It's contradictory."

Seeing the logic in this, she laid back down again, turning to me. "A friendly conversation, then? It's funny. Even with Eirin here, you're still the only person who I could spend days talking to."

"Yeah..." I muttered, thinking back. "How many people have we watched come and go through life? How many people have we befriended, only to watch die?"

"Not that many, actually," Kaguya responded, as I clenched my fists, thanking the dark for hiding my emotions. "In truth, everyone who was here when I arrived is still here, save for a few rabbits who joined us along the way, or disappeared. Maybe the Earth rabbits died, but I can never tell them apart anyway, so I can never really tell. Even Reisen looks like the rest of them." Not wanting to annoy her by pointing out that Reisen wears a blazer and a tie, and stands on two legs, which no other rabbit (save Tewi) can do, I just decided to bring the subject back to our acquaintances.

"I've watched hundreds, Kaguya. Hundreds of them. The various shrine maidens, villagers, refugees from the outside world... It's maddening. I could probably look into that rabbit's eyes, and become less insane, after this... It's a curse, plain and simple."

"Not really," Kaguya said, sounding completely unconcerned. "I never get fat, I never get sick, I never have to worry about growing old, or starving, or freezing to death. I never have to worry about getting killed, or getting eaten... Sure, I've been bored for a long time, but isn't it great to have all this? I'm a Lunarian. Such a long period of time doesn't even cover half of my lifespan. However, if I was mortal, I would be a very old, vulnerable Lunarian. Eirin has to do a lot to maintain her youth, I don't."

I stopped in my tracks. I had actually never considered that fact. However, I had to ignore this. I didn't _want_ to consider that fact. It was a curse, plain and simple, and nothing would change my mind.

"Let's change the subject," I said, wiping a speck of dust from my eye. "Do you remember when Gensokyo was little more than youkai hunting down scattered bands of humans, before the Human Village?"

"Those were good times," Kaguya giggled. "It was fun to watch Eirin and Yukari try to outwit each other. However, it's also good to have a village nearby. The quality of life has increased dramatically... for all of us. Could you imagine being part of the generations that would spend their whole lives working for a change that they would never see? This is the benefit of immortality, right?"

I nodded, murmuring a sound of agreement.

I hated to admit it, but she was right, maybe having lived this long wasn't so bad.

But I also had to admit that she was my mortal enemy, Keine was my friend, and Kaguya would suffer dearly for granting me this gift.


	6. Reigetsusai

A/N: Once again, thank you for your reviews and support. This chapter is a little slow, but it's meant to be a little more loose than the previous ones.

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**Chapter 5: Reigetsusai**

Eientei  
Morning of the 15th Day

"Well," Kaguya said, getting up off the ground and dusting herself off, "it's almost sunrise and I need to get some sleep for the festival. It's nice to have you here, even when you're trying to destroy the place. it keeps it interesting."

"Huh?" I replied automatically, still lost in the past. "Oh, yeah. Eientei is wonderful, the epitome of Lunarian craftsmanship."

"You should see the Capital," Kaguya giggled, before frowning, "even though I probably never will... Not again." Sighing, she went back inside, walking more quickly than before.

"So that's why she spends all her time here..." I muttered to nobody, making note of that fact. After a few more minutes of appreciating the sunrise, I also went back inside and laid back down in my bedroll, trying to sleep the remainder of the morning.

* * *

Eientei  
Afternoon of the 15th Day

"So this is the great Fujiwara no Mokou..." Eirin's voice brought me back to life, as I opened my eyes to see her towering above me. "You don't look so threatening when you're asleep, you know. Not that you're much of a threat when you're awake. Anyway, there's lunch if you want it, and Udongein is an excellent cook, so I'd advise you to not let it go to waste. If you need anything, just ask." She rattled this off almost coldly, not bothering to look down as she did. I would wonder why she didn't like me, but it was too obvious to even think about.

Without giving me a chance to reply, she turned on her heels and walked out, leaving the door open as she did so.

Getting out of bed and neatly rolling up the bedroll, I took a few moments to walk around the room and wake up. Staring out the opening, I saw the sun high in the sky, meaning it was probably about two o' clock.

Walking out of my room, I witnessed one of the most hectic sights I have seen in the last century. Rabbits running everywhere, Eirin screaming commands, and, oblivious to it all, Kaguya relaxing in the middle of the hallway. And, to ensure that silence would have no chance of sneaking in, there was the constant shouts of "The first strike is for Princess Kaguya! The second strike is for Lady Eirin! The third strike is for Reisen! The first strike..."

Following the shouts into the courtyard, I was greeted with the sight of what looked like every rabbit in Eientei (minus the ones inside, of course) lined up in rows of twenty, pounding out mochi for the festival. It looked like they had been working for hours, judging by the large pile of mochi that Reisen was organizing.

"Would you mind if I ate one?" I called to Reisen, who tripped over a rabbit as she turned around to look at me.

"Urrrgh. Don't you dare take one!" she shouted, looking more exhausted than angry. "Every last one of these is required for the festival. Just... go somewhere else, okay? I'm really busy!" Smacking the rabbit who tripped her, she went back to sorting out the mochi, swearing several oaths above the shouting.

Rather than wasting my morning here, I went back inside to the kitchen, where I met with the sight of Keine in an apron, brewing several pots of tea. "Oh, good mor- Well, afternoon, Mokou!" she said, much more cheerfully than usual. "Are you here to lend a hand?"

Not wanting to get on her bad side (at least, not after the last time I refused to help her...), I agreed, and began washing my hands. "I had no idea the festival required so much preparation," I remarked, trying to start a conversation over the noisy chaos.

"Oh, it's this way every month. It's especially bad during the peak of summer." Moving at speeds I would not have thought possible, she refilled the teapots with a certain grace, suggesting that she had more than enough experience doing this.

Following her lead, I began crushing the tea leaves, wondering if I should contaminate them or not.

In the end, I decided not to, and worked all afternoon, forgetting about the lunch that Eirin had threatened me not to waste.

At about six o' clock, judging from the light outside, the entire household came to an abrupt stop, shortly before Eirin's scream of "WE'RE DONE!" Wondering if I could break my immortality by working myself to this point more often, I took off the apron, sighed deeply, and followed Keine out to the courtyard.

* * *

Eientei  
Night of the Full Moon

"Good work, everyone! We did a great job today!" Kaguya looked utterly worn out, even though she hadn't moved an inch from her spot in the hallway until just now. "And now, I would like to announce the beginning of the Full Moon Festival!" Turning towards us, she added, "We've got more sake than even an oni could drink, enough mochi to keep Yuyuko full for weeks, and too many rabbits to count. Enjoy yourselves!"

Keine bowed respectfully, a lead which I followed, and headed over to the cups of sake, as she wiped sweat off her forehead.

Taking in everything I could, I decided to try the famous mochi of Eientei, and ate about a third of my body weight before I was satisfied.

"Even Mokou can't resist enjoying herself, right?" Kaguya laughed, grabbing an armful of food, as she sat down beside me. "This is why I love the festivals. And, like I said, we can eat whatever we want, thanks to that elixir! Isn't it great?"

"Kaguya!" I said, ignoring her remarks, "During that incident..."

"Huh? Why are you bringing that up, of all things? It's over, isn't it? Or do you want to talk about the, uh... task I gave them? I mean, it was nothing personal. We both know that the attacks and counterattacks are more out of form, than anything else now, right?"

I nodded silently. What angered me more than her existence was her casual discussion of my hatred. Did she really just not care anymore? "About that night," I continued, trying to even out my voice, "Eientei was attacked four times, right?"

"Trying to overthrow me? I'm just joking, of course. I doubt you really think like that anymore," she grinned, staring at the moon. "Yeah, four times, by four pairs. That shrine maiden and Yukari, two golden haired magic users, those two ghosts, and... Who were the other ones...? Oh, and those two from the Scarlet Devil Mansion. If I recall correctly, that maid was furious that I had the nerve to mess with time. Of course, it had to be done, otherwise we'd have a full-scale invasion on our hands."

"The miko and Yukari, the magic users... The ghosts I should just write off, and the two from the Mansion..." I muttered, committing that to memory.

"Anyway, why do you ask? I mean, really? I was just joking about the whole overthrowing thing."

"Oh, no reason. My memory is starting to get hazy recently, and I couldn't remember if that night was a dream or not." A complete lie... Well, mostly a lie. I didn't remember most of last month, but mainly because of that shrine maiden's feasts afterwards. Like anyone of importance, I happened to like to drink.

"Guess that's the problem with being human, right? You aren't meant to last nearly this long, and I guess immortality is eventually taking its toll."

Holding in my response, which wasn't exactly civil, I dragged myself over to the sake, drank a few cups, and went back into the room prepared for me.

Four pairs, one of which I am unable to speak with. If all went well, I would meet my goals sooner than that arrogant sage would ever think possible.

I slept soundly, despite all the noise outside.

* * *

A/N: I realized that it is "Reigetsusai", not "Reitaisai," and have edited earlier chapters (all one of them) for accuracy


	7. Immortality

A/N: Six chapters in... I will warn you that this story will probably take a while. I hadn't planned for it to be an epic, but, as they say, "The best laid plans of mice and men..."

* * *

**Chapter 6: Immortality**

Eientei  
Morning of the 16th Day

The sun crept in through the opening in the wall of my room. Slowly dragging myself to a sitting position, I noticed something heavily unusual.

The house was completely silent. No rabbits running around, no Eirin barking orders, or Kaguya laughing...

Cautiously, I slipped a spell card into my sleeve, and dressed myself slowly. Stepping quietly over to the threshold, I poked my head out and looked around. Nobody in sight, no noise in the hallway. The surest sign of an ambush. After all, I was still in enemy territory, despite Kaguya's false kindness.

Putting my back to the wall, I made my way out to the courtyard, to witness the great residents of Eientei, scattered all over the courtyard, asleep. Looking around, I wondered whether or not I should just kill everyone here (excluding Kaguya, of course), and accomplish a year's worth of planning.

But what would that achieve?

My mortal enemy and I would still be alive, still be immortal. Possibly the only person who could solve my problem would be killed in the attack, as well as several innocents.

Eying my spell card, I put it back into my sleeve, sighing heavily.

"Good idea," a voice said from behind me. I spun around to see Keine walking towards me, her smile slightly forced this time. "After all, you wouldn't want me to be collateral damage, would you? Or is it because you couldn't stand the thought of staining your family name with an underhanded assassination?"

"It's..." I thought for a moment, trying to think of a way out of this. I found none.

"It's a good thing that my hakutaku state can process alcohol much faster than my human form can, isn't it? After all, if I had still been passed out, I might've been the victim of a senseless massacre."

"Keine, I really have no choice in the matter. Life comes to an end, that's the cycle. Everyone here will eventually die. Everyone, but Kaguya and I, and her lifespan is practically endless, anyway. Why am I the only one?"

"Because of one stupid mistake, Mokou. Because you saw the chance to cheat death, and you took it. All because of that one moment, that one decision. And, to be honest, that only proves you are human, despite how you like to pretend that you've lost your humanity. You're human, Mokou. You have a body, vital organs, a brain, whether you like it or not. And yes, everyone here will eventually die, but what's the point of living if you dwell on that? I'm alive, I enjoy gathering and passing on knowledge, and I love the people of the village. If we were all fatalistic, we would all be stuck back in the most primitive ages imaginable. Age doesn't matter, whether you are fifty, one hundred, or one thousand. I... I even envy you! You know more, have seen and experienced more, than I could ever hope to. And you don't even seem to care!"

Once again, I failed to come up with a suitable response. Instead, I decided to avoid eye contact by looking around the courtyard.

After Keine's loud tangent, it seemed that almost everybody was awake now. Kaguya was listening with her full attention, and Eirin was slowly nodding, mumbling something to herself. After the stunned silence, Kaguya approached us, and said only two words.

"Well put."

I could only stare, completely overwhelmed. Turning to me, Kaguya took a deep breath, and handed me a small piece of paper.

It was one of my spell cards that I had dropped.

"If I was Eirin or Reisen, I would probably tear that in half or yell at your or something," she said softly, looking like she didn't know if she should speak her mind. "Mokou, I've already told you that I've been bored for quite a while. The main reason I allowed you to stay here was because I was hoping that you would find something to distract me with. Something to entertain me, and, after last night, the only thing you've managed to do is bring my mind back to the past. Fujiwara no Mokou, I humbly request that you leave immediately, and refrain from returning. Out of respect for the concept of hospitality, I will not attempt to interfere with your life any longer. Therefore, you are no longer welcome. Goodbye."

Amazingly, she said this all in one breath, before slowly walking back inside. For the third time, I cursed my mind for failing me.

Beside me, Keine shared in my shock. She tried several times to form a reply, but, like me, fell silent.

"Well then," Eirin said, bringing us back to the present, "You have everything that you arrived with, so the only thing left is for you to leave. Keine, you may accompany her if you want, but you are free to visit Eientei when it is convenient for the Princess. I wish you two a peaceful life." As she spoke, the rabbits lined up behind her, armed for defense.

"Very well." That was it. Those two words were the full extent of my vocabulary at that moment. Not wanting to waste the daylight, I began walking towards the village, as Keine followed behind me.

"Her absolutely disproportionate response was wholly unnecessary. Such a member of the bourgeois should be aware of the proper procedures when acting as host to guests. It is-" I stopped listening there, knowing Keine's habit of using the largest words she can when she is angry. Regardless of what she was saying, her anger alone was worth much.

"Four pairs," I declared suddenly, making Keine stop mid-rant.

"Pardon?"

"Four pairs. Reimu and Yukari, the two blond magic users, the mistress and maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and the two from the Netherworld. I'll need to start with the first two, Reimu and Yukari. Yukari has a grudge against the Lunarians. Surely, she will aid me..." My resolve was only strengthened by Kaguya's rejection. This would be her undoing.

"Mokou!" Keine screamed, now releasing her anger on me, "Are you going to put this behind you or not? Make up your mind!"

"I have made it up long ago. And..." I stopped, wondering whether I should play my ace card, the one thing that was sure to win her sympathy. "...Keine, even though I've known thousands, I have only known most of them in passing. I have never entered the village much, until very recently. Through my entire lifetime, the only friends I had were the youkai of the forest, the ones who were intelligent enough to see the futility of fighting me. And now, finally, I have a human friend. I have watched many die, yes, but I cared little for most of them. And if I remain immortal-"

"Then you'll watch me die?" Keine finished my sentence, speaking much more calmly than before. "I can't say I agree with your motives, but I will admit that I can sympathize. That's why I protect the people of the village. But I'm not organizing an army to murder everyone who crosses me, am I? If I did, then what would happen to the culture of Gensokyo? It would stagnate if this land became a collection of militant tribes again. That's why youkai and humans live in relative peace now."

I gritted my teeth. Her idealistic mind was, right now, impenetrable. If she lived a few more years, she would understand, but...

This time, I had a response, but was wise enough not to voice it.

The topic didn't come up again for the remainder of the journey home, which, owing to the daylight, was much more uneventful than the trip two days ago.

* * *

Human Village  
Evening of the 16th Day

"I'm about to fall over and die..." Keine moaned as we reached the edge of town. "I'm too tired to do anything other than rest. Mokou, I open my home to you," she smiled once again and added, "provided you don't burn it down while I'm asleep."

I let that comment slip by, and accepted her offer. As we approached her door, we both paused, looked around the village, and sighed happily.

Opening her door, Keine walked in, lit a candle, and immediately wandered towards the back of her house.

I merely dropped my things, unrolled a blanket, and faded into a heavy sleep.

The shrine maiden and Yukari, the two magic users, the two from the Netherworld, and the two from the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

I would start with the first two as soon as I could.

* * *

A/N: I sorta realized that everyone had been relatively calm about the whole "Hey, we're immortal enemies!" thing, so I kinda wanted to give the characters a chance to express their thoughts.


	8. The Forest of Magic

A/N: I almost feel like I should apologize for the length this time. I did not mean to write such a long chapter, but I kinda got carried away.

As usual, the feedback is really great. I love getting reviews.

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Forest of Magic**

Keine's House  
Morning of the 17th Day

The next morning, I woke up at sunrise, as I usually did (Eientei's effect on its surroundings most likely interfered with my wake up time. Another reason to hate it). Having nothing urgent to do today, I stood up, slowly stretched and yawned, and quickly adjusted my appearance.

Remembering that I hadn't eaten anything since the full moon, I helped myself to the use of Keine's kitchen. Quickly inventorying her larder, I grabbed a few ingredients to throw together for breakfast. After finishing off my breakfast and making a serving for Keine, I decided to spend the day hiking in the forest. Launching a counterattack while the enemy was still on guard was a foolish move.

And besides, I wanted to relax a little after the events of the full moon.

Checking her room to make sure nothing had happened to her in the night, I decided to let Keine sleep, and quietly left her house.

* * *

Human Village  
Morning of the 17th Day

If there was one time of the day that I loved, it would be the time shortly after sunrise. A time immediately after the silent dawn, but before the busy afternoon. The only sounds were the sounds of animals, or flowing water. I had nothing against the hustle and bustle of the day, but there was no substitute for such a serene moment. Like everything else that I enjoyed, it only lasted a moment.

"Good morning, Mokou!"

Snapping out of my trance, I was staring at the only other person who could be so cheerful and energetic this early in the morning.

Reimu Hakurei, the local shrine maiden.

"Good morning, Reimu," I responded politely, hoping that she would not want to walk beside me and talk. Judging by how she slowed her pace to keep up with mine, however, she did.

"So, Yukari told me that you had gone to the festival a few days ago. You're not... causing trouble or anything, are you?" she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, which was understandable. After all, when anything went wrong, Reimu took it upon herself to interfere in whatever she could, regardless of the consequences. Typically, those consequences were negative.

"It was a friendly visit, nothing more," I responded, stopping myself from voicing my previous thought. "What are you doing in the village?" I asked, trying to change the subject. I didn't want her to know more than I needed her to know. I had nothing against the shrine maiden, but she relied too heavily on emotion, a flaw that only brings ruin.

"I come here every two or three days to buy some supplies. Mainly rice, actually. Do you know how unbelievably heavy rice is? I have to carry two baskets of it every time I come down here, and that's not even considering the vegetables, sake, paper, ink, charcoal, wood... It's too much for me to handle alone, but, nevertheless, I strain myself, alone, for a shrine that nobody cares about."

I let her rant uninterrupted, because it was much easier to tune her out and go back to my thoughts than carry on a conversation with her. Although it was unusual to hear her complain, I paid it no mind. After all, she was still a child.

"Are you having any large gatherings at the shrine?" I asked, catching her mid-sentence.

"Huh?" She thought for a few seconds, "I don't think so... The closest feast, which is the only reason anyone visits the shrine anymore, is about a month away. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I was just wondering when I would be able to see some of Gensokyo's more... elusive creatures."

"Do you mean Yuyuko? Or Yukari?" Once again, she was suspicious. Then again, due to Yukari's nature, anyone wanting to see her would be considered suspicious. Acting almost like a god, she was seen when she wanted to be seen, and only when she felt like stooping so low as to talk to those beneath her. Needless to say, she was a bit of a challenge to deal with.

"Neither, actually," I quickly lied. It wouldn't be good to have Reimu make another attempt on my life, even if it _was_ futile. "I was actually hoping to speak with that reporter about an article concerning the Forest of the Lost that she printed recently. I would give anything to know how she dreams up these stories."

"If you do, let me know!" Reimu said, warming up for another tangent. "In the last issue, she made several claims about the shrine being haunted! As a professional shrine maiden, I can completely confirm that the shrine has been exorcised no less than twice, and is completely free of all-"

"I thought you were going into the village, not the forest," I interrupted. As we spoke, we had walked out of the village and onto the path to the Forest of Magic. Bowing quickly, Reimu muttered something under her breath, and ran back to the village.

I figured that, while I was here, I should pay the two spell casters a visit.

* * *

The Forest of Magic  
Late Morning of the 17th Day

It didn't exactly take me too long to find what I was looking for. After walking a few yards into the forest, a giant white explosion shook the forest, indicating that my target was about twenty yards in front of me.

"Why would you do that?" an indignant voice cried out, as I approached the hedges of Marisa Kirisame's house. "That could have killed me! A few feet to the left and it would have leveled my house!"

Getting closer, I stumbled across the two, Alice Margatroid and Marisa Kirisame, having an argument on the neatly swept walkway in Marisa's yard.

"What'cha talkin' about?" Alice replied, backed up by the two wooden dolls floating behind her. "I happened to find that piece of paper in my yard, and decided to bring it back, out of the goodness of my heart. I had no way of knowing it would be a spell card."

"You lying assassin!" Marisa screamed back, waving her fists in the air so wildly that she knocked off her black hat. Not seeming to notice, she decided to turn the tables. "That card had an incantation on it! What'd you think it was, a poem?"

"Perhaps I did. Maybe it was something that you didn't want anyone to see, so you rigged it to explode! Wouldn't be uncommon for a brute like you!"

"Right, Alice," Marisa said, bending down to pick up her hat. "You win, you're right. Now could you go away? It appears I have a visitor."

"By all means, don't mind me," I said, almost laughing. "If there's one thing I know about, it's troublesome neighbors."

"Exactly!" they both shouted at once, before Alice stormed off.

"Looks like you've wandered into the wrong forest," Marisa smirked, clearly eager to know what I was doing so far from my home.

"Perhaps you're right. I must have taken a wrong turn, and should be going now." I let my words sink in before turning around towards the direction of the village.

"Wait, you came here for a reason, didn't you?" Marisa called after me, clearly unable to pass up anything interesting.

"That depends on how busy you are. Between quarreling, blowing things up, developing larger explosions, and stealing what doesn't belong to you, I imagine that you have quite a busy schedule."

"Well," Marisa said, trying to act casual by leaning on a wall, "I guess I could make time. After all, the quarrelin' and explodin' is done, so all I have left is making bigger explosions and blatant thievery. And, if all goes according to plan, a visit to Patchouli should take care of those later this evening." She tried in vain to look serious, "So, what business do you have here?"

"Eientei." Taking a moment to savor the look of comical confusion on her face, I continued, "Or, more specifically..." I couldn't mention the feud, couldn't make it seem personal... "More specifically, Eirin Yagokoro. I need to make some medicine for a disease I've contracted, but, if my sources are correct, only Eirin has the necessary resources to make the cure."

"Why not just ask her?" Marisa shrugged, making it clear that I was starting to bore her.

"She wouldn't help me, Marisa. I need the alchemist, not the ingredients. I just need her to make the drug, and get back to her daily life. That's all."

Finally getting what I was trying to say, Marisa's face brightened by no less than three shades. "So, you want me to kidnap her, steal whatever I can from her stock, and bring her to you?" This is why I liked Marisa. She was quick, to the point, and rarely needed an excuse for senseless violence.

"Exactly," I replied, though her method was a little more direct than mine. "I can't accompany you, as I would attract too much suspicion. Can you give me an estimate of when you will have Eirin?"

"This evening! Just come by, and I can guarantee that Eirin will be at our service. After all, it's not like I actually have anything else to do. Patchouli has been on her guard lately." So that is why she was so eager to do this. It seemed suspicious at first, but... Perhaps being simple wasn't so bad...?

I thanked her, worked out a price (I was foolish for thinking that she would do it for free), agreed to be her servant for two months (the fool...), and went on my way.

After Marisa, I headed for her neighbor, Alice Margatroid.

Alice's house was much neater than Marisa's. Although Kirisame kept her yard fairly clean, her windows showed that the inside of her house was almost bursting with all sorts of odds and ends. In contrast, Alice lived in a small cottage in a clearing. Her yards was neatly kept, and her perfectly washed windows revealed an almost spotless interior.

"Conspiring with that witch?" Holding a watering can, Alice noticed me as she was turning around to pick up a pot she had dropped. "Or did she send you here to try and obliterate everything I hold dear?"

"Ironic, considering you tried to kill me without warning," I muttered, thinking of how this arrogant doll maker could be of any use to me. "Actually, I'm here to talk about that recent incident."

"Oh, you mean the one with the moon?" Alice set down her watering can, took off her gloves, and motioned me to follow her inside. Overall, a lot more civilized than her rambunctious neighbor. Not that I wanted to see the inside of Kirisame's house.

So, not wanting to offend her, I found myself walking in her front door, which slammed shut the moment I passed it.

"Excellent, now I have the advantage!" Alice gloated, practically singing with joy.

"I am forced to admit defeat," I muttered just loud enough for her to hear, which only inflated her ego to the point where I could barely fit in the room.

"So, what were you and Marisa talking about?" Alice said, once again surrounded by her floating toys. "If you're here to destroy, steal, or ruin anything, it would be better to tell me now than have me find out the hard way." Despite her dignified manner, her isolation has caused her to retain the mindset of a childish brat, and nothing more. Wondering why I didn't simply fulfill her wish of destroying everything, I collected my thoughts, and thought up a suitable excuse.

"It was regarding the mushrooms from this forest. Keine had asked me to get a few, so I-"

"That's a liiiiiie!" Alice sang, almost drowning in her own 'victory.' "Now... what'll I use this time?" She grabbed a large book from one of her shelves and opened it up. The book had several nasty looking runes in it, telling me what her intentions were.

"Are you going to torture and kill me, or are you going to try and find out what my purpose is? More powerful beings have tried to kill me, so I guarantee you won't get far."

"Thiiiiis one!" Alice giggled, completely ignoring me. The whole room faded into blackness, which was instantly replaced by a swirling mass off... was it... magical energy? Some form of a chemical? Something else? In the purple swirling mass... something... that surrounded us, millions of wooden dolls, each seeming to have its own features, surrounded us. It was remarkable how so many dolls could be so unique. Surely, this girl- No! I can't be distracted!

Then, I noticed the Alice in front of me, and I made a very educated guess about my surroundings.

Judging by Alice's indescribably dazzling clothes, her perfect appearance, and her smug grin, I knew where I was.

This was either Alice's mind, or Hell itself.

* * *

A/N: Remember PCB, where you have that swirling... dimension... thing... that Alice was in? Yeah, it just made an appearance. Needless to say, MAlice is the best thing since the Lunarians came to Gensokyo.

Also, 10K mark! Hooray! I can't tell you how thrilled I am to get this far!


	9. Alice's Dimension

A/N: I, I forgot to (di)mention... The combat system, such as the whole concept of the spellcards and stuff, was mostly inspired by UsuallyDead. Just felt I should give credit where credit is due.

UsuallyDead, if you read this, please let me know. I would be honored.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Alice's Dimension**

Alice's Dimension?  
Time Unknown

"Are you still prepared to resist me?" Alice taunted, obviously enjoying her catch. "I'm a youkai. I'll live forever. There's no point trying to wait it out."

"You're seeming to forget," I slowly responded, scanning my surroundings, "I'm also immortal. You'll be here quite a while. Also, I don't intend to spend eternity with a child."

"A child?" Alice flared up, showing me that I had hit my mark dead on. "That's right! A child! I'm younger than you, and yet you've walked right into my trap! I should've known that you were stupid! After all, you decided to ally yourself with that witch, rather than me! And, now that you're here, I'll make you regret that decision. Slowly and painfully, you will regret it!"

Perhaps that wasn't the best move, but it spoke volumes about her personality. I had to hold my tongue to avoid pushing her to honor her threat, although I would have enjoyed watching her try.

"Alice..." I began, quickly deciding how much fun I wanted to have with this, however brief. My common sense prevailed...

...right before my irritable mood took hold of me.

"The truth is, everyone is conspiring against you, you ignorant fool!" She was so paranoid, that she would believe anything I said. The look on her face confirmed this, so I decided to push her a little closer to the edge. "In fact, your pathetic trap was easily spotted a mile away. I haven't fell into yours, you fell into mine. Here, we both die." Through all this, I kept my voice steady, working hard not to betray my amusement.

However, I then learned not to mess with a sadist in her own territory.

"Me? Die? And why would I let you kill me?" Alice said, advancing on me, walking through this hellish terrain.

Walking?

I took a deep breath, and fell backwards, hitting my back on the wall.

This wasn't another dimension, it was Alice's house. Upon realizing this, I made another mistake, by tapping the wall.

"Yes, you've figured it out." Alice shouted to me, borderline fury in her voice. "However, what you don't know, and what I will now tell you is this: The purple is my magic. Mine, and mine alone. You can't channel it, so don't bother."

A chill went down my spine, as I realized she was right. Up until now, I hadn't noticed the fact that I no longer felt the magical energy in my surroundings.

I reviewed my options. I could try and negotiate my way out of this, or... pray for other options. And the latter seemed like the best.

"You're wrong, Alice," I countered, putting all the confidence I had into my voice. "In fact, I'm only letting you live because I enjoy playing with you. I could cast if I wanted to, but I'm having too much fun."

"Sh-shut up!" Alice screamed back, clutching her book tightly. Perfect.

"While it is true that Marisa is plotting against you, I honestly think that she was bluffing. She's an idiot, after all, and it's a common tactic of cowards to try and inflate themselves to seem big."

"She always was a coward!" Alice spat, missing the subtle jab that I should not have risked in the first place.

"So, just let me out of here, and I'll pay her back tenfold." I tried to make myself sound as weak as possible, which was hard now that my pride was returning to me.

"Of course," Alice said softly, muttering words that, to me, sounded like gibberish. "The door is right there. Opening it will break the spell."

I turned around and fumbled for the handle that should have been there. Something heavy and wooden hit the back of my head, cracking my skull. I crumpled to the floor, and blacked out.

* * *

Alice's Dimension  
Time Unknown

"Awake?" That accursed voice rang in my ears. The voice of the one who, at the moment, I hated almost as much as I hated my mortal enemy. I envied those who carried some form of a weapon. Even that miko's gohei would have helped me beat this demon's head in.

However, even if I did have a weapon, my mind was in no state to use it. Upon waking up, I wanted to scream in pain, thanks to the almost blinding pain from my cracked skull. However, thanks to the pain, I knew that I could not have been unconscious for long. I have a remarkable talent for healing quickly, and it's fairly difficult to keep me out for more than a few hours.

"Alice..." I mumbled, not even knowing how I would finish that sentence.

"Shut up," was her short reply. Rather than being enraged like she was earlier, she was suddenly a girl of few words. I didn't know which was scarier.

After a few moments of silence, she opened up her large spell book again, causing me to flinch. After she didn't set me on fire, and appeared to only be reading it, I relaxed again.

"So, why did you really come here?" Alice mumbled, half to me and half to herself.

"To ask Marisa to kidnap Eirin." No point in hiding it anymore.

"I never did get a chance to fight you," Alice said more loudly, standing up.

"Very well, I'll play with you." Forcing myself to stand, I grabbed my three weapons from my pocket: Phoenix Tail, Phoenix Tail, and Phoenix Tail, just for variety. The soft glow from the runes indicated that Alice had, in fact, been bluffing earlier.

"I'll give you the first move." Her arrogance was back again, and I looked forward to killing it off once and for all.

"Thank you," I responded, scanning her every movement. She had surrounded herself with wooden dolls.

That fact, and the fact that she didn't know I was immortal told me she knew nothing about me. This fight was mine.

"Alice, are you sure you want me to destroy your house?" I asked, hoping that she would understand the full consequences of this battle.

"Wait, I hadn't even-"

"PHOENIX TAIL!" I screamed as loudly as I could, watching the card in front of my burn to ash. A large spiral of flame encircled me, heating me up, both inside and out.

Through the flames, I heard a loud scream, telling me that my attack had hit my opponent. I savored the moment, but remained on my guard.

"PERFECT!" Alice shouted in anger, as the flames died down. She was wiping ashes off of her clothing, and kicking the remains of her dolls out of her way. Judging by the face that she hadn't been burned to ash, she had reacted quickly enough to put up a magical barrier, right before the flames reached her.

I wondered if I should respect the inherent rules of dueling, and allow her a move, or just shoot off another spell and end it. My old-fashioned ways required me to give her a turn.

"Suicide Squadron!" Alice called back, pointing at me. I looked for something that would activate the spell, which gave her the perfect opening. Her dolls flew at me with more speed than the howling wind, aiming for several of my vital spots. I put up my hands in front of my face, catching one shortly before impact.

I barely had time to scream before it exploded inches from my face, with enough power to leave black marks on my hands, but not enough to do anything permanent. Wiping my hands on my clothing to relieve the stinging, I had the presence of mind to kick away one near my legs, sending it flying back at Alice. Obviously, she hadn't expected this, because it exploded at point blank range on her dress, making it burst into flames.

"D-darn YOU!" she howled, pulling off her outer layer of clothing to reveal more heavy clothing. Obviously, she was prepared to look dignified in any situation. Her vanity knew no bounds...

However, this also meant that I had just removed a heavy weight off her shoulders. Sprinting towards me, I dodged two more of her dolls, before tossing the last one out of the way. While I was occupied with this, she crashed headlong into me.

After the brief moment of utter confusion, I found her on top of me, hitting whatever she could. Physical combat wasn't her strong suit, but it was mine.

I rolled over and grabbed her by the shoulders. As she wrapped her hands around my neck in desperation, I slowly stood up, thanking my powers of rapid healing. With a single burst of rage, I jumped up and fell on top of her, with a satisfying crunch. Her focus on magic was her downfall.

Noticing that she was unconscious, I grabbed her large spell book, and, taking a larger risk than was wise, burned it with a fire spell.

Instantly, my surroundings faded, returning to Alice's house.

Leaving her unconscious, I ran from there as I could.

A total waste of time... I would pay her back for this tenfold.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, it's not that great. I was writing this while heavily distracted, but I think it's not too bad...

Now that my love for Alice is out of my system, we can continue.


	10. Eirin

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I had to do something that ate up most of my day, and I almost decided to skip today. So... be grateful!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Eirin**

Forest of Magic  
Evening(?) of the 17th Day...?

After running as far from that nightmare as my legs would carry me, I took a moment to calm down and examine my surroundings. It was dark, and the moon was fairly low in the sky, suggesting either early evening or early morning. Noticing the animals scurrying around, I assumed it was the former.

Evening. If it was the same day, that meant...

Getting my bearings, I began running again. This time, towards Marisa's house.

* * *

Marisa's House  
Evening of the 17th Day

As I approached Marisa's doorstep, I could hear Eirin's voice. More specifically, her calm, spine-chilling threats.

"Marisa, if you do not untie me at once, I will force feed you what's left of the elixir, and torture you until I die. Before then, I will have taught Kaguya how to torture you, so you will suffer for an eternity." And that was one of the nicer ones. I'd rather not imagine the... less pleasant ones.

"Shut up, nurse lady!" Marisa screamed in reply every time Eirin would try to unnerve her.

After a few minutes of listening to these exchanges, I knocked on the door three times, causing Marisa to appear in what had to be record time.

"Ah, Mokou! Great timing! I've got Eirin, like you asked, and all her ingredients!" Leading me into her living room (which was more like her attic, by the look of it), Marisa gestured to Eirin, who was the very picture of calm, even when she was tied up in the corner.

"Fujiwara no Mokou, this isn't what I would call a pleasant meeting, and I cannot say I am surprised by your presence." Like Keine, it appeared she grew increasingly more articulate as she grew angrier.

"You should at least give me credit for this," I muttered angrily, rubbing the back of my head. "I literally went through a fate worse than death to get this far."

"Alice, got ya?" Marisa asked, sounding annoyed. "Best to avoid her, and especially her house. The neater the house, the crazier the owner."

Deciding to hold my tongue in this situation, I turned my attention to Eirin. "Unfortunately for you, I do not want or need your great genius, and I doubt you would give it to me. The only thing I don't need is your presence at Eientei, as you are the only competent being within miles of that place."

"Pointless, isn't it?" Eirin shot back, her voice as steady as always, "It would be like trying to destroy the moon itself. Eientei is impenetrable, and, thanks to the elixir, is eternal. You have no reason to hate it, besides your pride. Does a man who lived over one thousand years ago really mean that much? He was rejected due to his own failure, not Kaguya's."

She truly was the greatest intellect in the world, to be able to slip past my defenses and strike at my head. After being spoken down to by Keine, Alice, Kaguya, and, most of all, Eirin...

After so many years of living, I rarely got emotional.

Then again, it was also rare to have your enemy's strategist as a captive.

"Wh-what would you know about my father's failure?" I screamed, resisting the urge of igniting Eirin on the spot. "It was because of her foolish arrogance... It was because of your bloodthirsty princess... Had that witch never entered his life, I would have happily lived with him, died with him. darn your Lunarian blood! You are not capable of imagining my pain over my lifetime, no matter how you spin your words! You extend your lifespan willingly, I wish for death. You have no right to tell me what is and isn't pointless!" I took a deep breath, my fist clenched on a spell card. I would torch her if she said another word...

"Ze..." Marisa exhaled slowly, staring at me. "Wait, you used me for revenge? Mokou..."

"Very well." Eirin replied simply, staring evenly at me. As usual, she was as readable as a book in Patchouli's library. "Now, if you would please untie me..."

"No, I went through the trouble of bringing you here..." Marisa responded, a malicious look in her eye. Although I wouldn't be able to interrogate Eirin, it looked like she gave Marisa enough trouble to make Marisa want payback.

"I wash my hands of this," I muttered, turning to leave.

"You are just going to leave me?" Eirin called after me, obviously annoyed that I would order her kidnapping, and then just ignore her. "Even though it would be wiser to keep silent, I cannot allow you to mock me by simply ignoring me. I demand you interrogate me at once."

That was an offer I couldn't refuse. Turning back around, I nodded to Marisa. "Marisa, do you have your mini-hakkero?"

"Oooooh, certainly!" Marisa said, grinning from ear to ear. Obviously, the opportunity for senseless violence redeemed me in her eyes.

"I'm planning on peacefully cooperating with you regardless, so there is no need to harm me in any way." Eirin said, this time unable to keep a subtle tone of mocking out of her voice.

Ignoring her, I wondered how to force her to accidentally tell the truth. Kaguya's second in command wouldn't give up important information so willingly, after all...

"Yes, I will tell the full truth. It's obvious from your face that you don't trust me. However, as you are no threat to the Princess, I feel no need to mislead you, Fujiwara no Mokou."

Her icy calm scared me more than Alice ever could.

* * *

A/N: It's not what you think, just... Yeah.


	11. Confusion

A/N: Thanks once again for the reviews! ^_^ I would never have imagined that I'd get this many steady readers!

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* * *

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**Chapter 10: Confusion**

Marisa's House  
Midnight of the 17th Day

"Found it!" Marisa called out, running back into the room with her mini-hakkero. "Though I'm pretty sure that we'd end up burning the ropes if we used this..."

"Then we shall be careful," I answered, still wondering how I should do this. "Very well, sage. Tell me how to make the Hourai Elixir."

"Classified information. Even if you knew how, you would not be able to create it, regardless of how long you lived."

I decided not to engage her in that battle, choosing instead to change attacks.

"What is the cure for the Hourai Elixir?"

"If you want to commit suicide, it wouldn't be very appropriate to help you, would it? Regardless of the fact that you are my enemy..."

She was almost enjoying this. She had to be. Otherwise, why would she give me answers like that? I now knew what she meant by 'the truth.' I should have expected this...

"Marisa, the mini-hakkero."

Shaking her head, Marisa clutched the artifact tightly. "Nuh-uh. I captured her, I get to have the fun." Although slightly troubling, perhaps someone else's sadistic moods could be useful...

Marisa grinned once again, proving that she could grin even wider than I thought possible. "Alright, then. Let's see how much pain the nurse can handle..."

She muttered a few words, cupping her hands around the device. In an instant, a giant flash, followed by a small, concentrated beam shot out of it, hitting Eirin's ropes perfectly.

"Marisa! What are you doing?" I screamed, as Eirin stood up, rubbed her wrists, and drew a spell card she had in her sleeve.

"Heh heh..." Marisa responded sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "A bit cross-eyed, you know..."

"Neither of you could match me in a century. Step aside." Holding her spellcard cautiously, Eirin glared at the two of us. The look on her face was obvious that she thought we weren't worth fighting.

She was right, but I wasn't going to allow her to escape unharmed. "I refuse. I cannot allow an ally of my enemy to escape without a fight."

"You fool! If you seek an end to your life, you have found it. I do not take kindly to those who seek to harm Houraisan."

"No killing in the house! It's not polite, you know!" Marisa shouted, stepping between us, and sticking her tongue out. "'fya want to do this, step outside!"

"Marisa, then she would _escape._ The whole point of fighting inside is to keep her contained!"

"Quite true, but I would escape anyway if I fought you here. You are no match for me, and your foolish pride is the only reason that you want to make a stand that gains you nothng. Your foolish pride does a lot to hurt you, you know..."

I gritted my teeth, and pulled out a spell card of my own.

"NO!" Marisa screamed, recognizing the Phoenix Tail. "MASTER SPARK!" A blinding beam of heat shot out of her hakkero, hitting me squarely in the chest, and pushing me far outside her door (which, thanks to her good aim, allowed the spell to only hit me, and nothing else in her house). "Destroying my stuff isn't polite either! TAKE IT OUTSIDE!"

"I need to be going," I heard Eirin's voice mutter, as her footsteps approached me. For the second time in two days, I blacked out.

* * *

Eientei  
Afternoon of the 18th Day

"Wow, you're right!" I heard Kaguya's voice shout. "She really DOES heal quickly. I don't know if this is a good thing, or a major problem..."

"Most likely a major problem, and an irritating side-effect," Eirin's voice responded.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I almost let out a scream, as I saw Kaguya's face just inches from mine, with the rest of her kneeling right next to me. With a look of utter fascination, Kaguya poked me in several places on my torso, sending several shots of pain up my spine.

"Please don't do that..." I begged weakly, in no condition to physically resist her.

"Oh, sorry." Kaguya said, sounding like a child who had just been scolded for something she didn't do.

"You are no doubt wondering why you woke up here." Eirin cut in, still examining me. "As a nurse, I could not leave you out there, as you had suffered several burns, broken bones, and other minor injuries. Even with your rapid recovery, you would have been easy prey for days. And, additionally-"

"You make things more fun!" Kaguya interrupted, looking utterly joyful. "I was waiting for you to shake things up by attacking Eientei, but you took too long. So, when Eirin asked me what to do with you, I decided to let you stay. You're a lot of fun, Mokou!"

Great. I was her play thing.

"And, now that I've nursed you back to health, I'm expecting the largest assault ever, okay? Hurry up and attack!"

"K-Kaguya!" Eirin shouted, smacking her on the head. For the first time, she was visibly annoyed, allowing me to guess who shouldered most of the burden for defending Eientei. Her voice became threatening, "Fujiwara no Mokou, the next time you have the nerve to disrupt our daily lives, you will beg for a cure to the Hourai Elixir. On my honor as a Lunarian, I swear it."

I was confused. Kaguya wanted me to attack Eientei, so I would be playing right into her hands if I did. However, this also meant she would think I was just playing with her if I attacked, which would mean she would drop her guard...

"Very well, then. I swear you will regret those words," I responded, eagerly awaiting the day I could follow up on my 'promise.'

I seemed to have picked the right thing to say, as Kaguya smiled widely. "I'll look forward to it!"

Fool... was this a game to you? Do you really not realize my intentions?

"So, once again..." Kaguya said, looking me over again, "You look well enough. Get out."

This time, I left without any trouble. After all, why would I bother causing chaos if my enemy was kind enough to give me permission to assault her?

By late afternoon, I was already back in the village.

* * *

Human Village  
Late Afternoon of the 18th Day

As I walked back from the Forest of the Lost, Keine saw me approach the village.

"Mokou!" she called out, waving. "Are you okay? People are saying that Yagokoro was carrying you out to the woods this morning!"

"She was." I responded, wondering how much I should tell her. In the end, I decided to tell her only what she needed to know. "Marisa Kirisame attacked me, leaving me unconscious in the Forest of Magic. Eirin saw me, brought me to Eientei, and nursed me back to health. For some reason, Kaguya also ordered me to attack her immediately. Apparently, I entertain her. I plan to follow her orders exactly."

"Well, if she asked you to do it, why not?" Keine said, back to her recently cheerful self. "You really seem a lot less bitter than the last time I saw you. Now, you're only intent on attacking to amuse Kaguya, right?" Her face clearly showed that she was only asking this for her own sake, even if she knew the answer.

"Of course. I'm planning on visiting the Scarlet Devil Mansion tomorrow morning, to recruit them. Attacking alone is bound to fail, and I am honor-bound to give it my all. Honestly, I don't understand the situation, but..."

"Understood." Keine nodded. "It's still for revenge, right? But you're also making her happy. This is the best situation, I guess...?" She stopped, and became angry. "Wait, the Scarlet Devil Mansion? Mokou! Are you stupid?"

"No. What do I have to worry about? After being assaulted by both magicians in the Forest of Magic, I have little else to fear."

"Both?"

"Alice too. I need to be going now. If you're going to accompany me, feel free. However, I need to leave as soon as I can."

"Give me a minute," Keine said, as we passed her house. She stopped, and then ran inside, leaving me on her doorstep.

I could not even begin to make sense of this. Was it revenge if I was doing what she wanted? Was this all a game?

I doubt that even the sage could comprehend this...

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the slightly confusing and awkward pacing of this chapter. Admittedly, I had no idea how I was going to resolve this, so I simply pulled a solution out of thin air.

Because I already have an idea of how I wanted this to end, I could not end the story here. Once again, I apologize. I will try to improve. T_T


	12. The Journey to the Mansion

A/N: Busy day. So... be grateful! :P

* * *

**Chapter 11: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Mansion...**

"Fujiwara no Mokou, we have come for your head."

The woods around me were dark and hostile, just like the two figures in front of me. One of them, the taller of the two, had long, silver hair, and a maid outfit. With the look of absolute calm, the kind belonging to a trained killer, she casually stated her intentions. As if to confirm her point, she held two throwing knives in her hands.

The person next to her, the one that seemed to be the more powerful of the two, was short, and had a smug look on her face. Holding an umbrella, even on a clear night, the moonlight hit her well enough to reveal her dress, with stains that looked uncomfortably like blood.

"You too?" I asked, still licking my wounds from a previous battle that evening. "It's... It's Kaguya again? The impossible task? Leave me be!"

Ignoring me, the one in the maid outfit seemed to twitch, as a knife hit me square in the chest. In shock, I looked up, noticing that the knife in her hand had not moved. How was this possible...?

Pulling the knife out and throwing it to the ground, I reached for a spellcard, as two more knives dug themselves into my arm. With a gasping breath, I screamed "PHOENIX-"

"...TAIL!" No sound came out. I fell to the ground, comforted only by the fact that, no matter how hard they tried, these assassins would never take my life...

"Mokou!" Keine shouted, walking out of her house. Her voice snapped me back to reality. I found myself on her doorstep, as I was only a moment ago. Looking at my arms, I realized what I had been doing.

"Mokou, are you okay?" Keine looked like someone had just fallen over dead in front of her.

"I'm fine," I muttered, shivering slightly from the memory.

"If you say so. Anyway, the Scarlet Devil Mansion shouldn't be too far from here, should it?"

"A couple of hours, at best..." I mumbled, trying to avoid another flashback. And that was only one of four assaults...

"You don't look well, you know... Are you sure you want to go? It's not like you to push yourself... well, at all, really, for Kaguya's sake."

"I have things to discuss with the mistress of the mansion. I want to leave immediately."

Nodding, Keine swung her bag over her shoulder, and, once again, the two of us left the village.

* * *

The Forest of Magic  
Evening of the 18th Day

"The woods at night..." Keine mumbled, sounding distant. "Why do you always ask me to do these things at night...?"

"It's not my fault," I answered. "I hate the night as much as you do."

"We probably should've killed the last one we found, huh?" Keine asked, displaying a more brutal line of logic than usual.

"I don't think you _can_ kill them. Not without powerful magic."

"Or maybe the ferrywoman could...."

As usual, we made casual conversation to distract us. Every little irregularity (which, thanks to the nature of the forest, consisted of about half of the things we passed) caused us to draw our spell cards. Everything was a potential enemy.

Fortunately, we passed through the forest without incident, arriving at the gates of the mansion at around eleven.

"Stop! Move and I'll shoot!" a voice called out. Judging by the accent, the speaker wasn't from Gensokyo... a human? "What brings you here at such a late hour?" The voice was high pitched, suggesting a woman, and arrogant, suggesting a guard.

"We are here to visit the Scarlet Devil!" Keine called out, sounding highly annoyed by this delay.

"And why so late? Are you assassins?"

"If we were assassins, we wouldn't state our intentions, would we?" Keine pointed out, noticeably resisting the urge to simply attack the guard.

"Still, I can't let humans just waltz through here!"

"Well, I'm a were-hakutaku, and she's immortal. I doubt we'd taste very good."

"Good point. Come on in."

As we approached, I was able to get a closer look at her. Even in the dark, her hair was a rich, apple red, and she was wearing a uniform that bore a heavy resemblance to the military.

"Wait! To pass, you have to prove that you're strong enough to be what you say you are!"

I didn't have time for this...


	13. The Scarlet Devil Mansion

A/N: I admittedly drew heavy inspiration from Reinterpretation of Scarlet Devil (by UsuallyDead) for this chapter. It was hard NOT to, you know...

Anyway, UsuallyDead, I love you. Once again, if you are reading this, please leave a review.

Umm, anyway, Isn't it ironic that the SDM finally appears in the 13th part of the story? I think it is.

So... feeling rambly. Anyway, yeah. Thanks for your reviews! I do read them, yep!

* * *

**Chapter 12: The Scarlet Devil Mansion**

Gates of the SDM  
Evening of the 18th Day

"That's impossible." Keine answered our challenger. "The full moon was two days ago, so I can't enter hakutaku form."

"Irregardless!" the guard shouted back, the word causing Keine to cringe slightly. "Surely, then your friend can prove her immortality to me! She just has to try to die!"

"I'm not going to attempt suicide for someone who hasn't even told me their name." I responded, fingering a Phoenix Tail.

"Hong Meirin, beautiful gate guard of the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

"I gathered the last part, but your name... So you _are_ a foreigner. That would explain your manners..."

"What? Shut up! Enough talking, you're not getting by me!" It seemed that she had abandoned the plan of forcing me to prove my immortality, and had decided to just attempt to beat us into submission.

Almost laughing, I started to take my spellcard out, but my laughter stopped when the girl's fist connected with my stomach. Bending over, completely winded, I received another blow to the head, causing my mind to blank out for a moment.

"OLD HISTORY!" Keine shouted out, finally bringing some magic of her own into play. A large shockwave was sent out, knocking me and my opponent back. I stayed down, knowing what was next, but Meirin was covered in magical projectiles as she stood up again. A rookie mistake. Screaming, she fell to the ground, trying to, once again, stand up. By this time, I had recovered, and, checking to make sure the air was clear, dragged myself to my feet.

"Finish her off?" I asked Keine, hestitantly.

"She's a youkai. It won't hurt her too much."

"Right." Not wanting to cause her more pain than necessary (I derived no joy from torturing my foes), I knelt down and put my hands around her neck, intending on mercifully strangling her while she was unconscious.

Mercy was my major mistake. Her eyes shot open, and her feet kicked me in my legs, causing me to cry out in pain. Such a physically strong opponent in a world ruled by magic... She was indeed a deadly foe if underestimated.

"Mokou! Move!" Keine said, readying another spell. No matter how hard I tried to obey, I couldn't move my legs. It seemed that she had kicked me at a pressure point, causing my legs to go numb. Under my arms, I could feel her lifting me up in front of her. She was not laughing or gloating, but merely muttering softly to herself. Indeed, we had underestimated her.

Building up my anger, I rammed my head back, hitting her in the face. In her surprise, she dropped me to the ground, giving Keine a clear shot.

"DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!" Keine roared with fury, choosing to use a simple spell rather than a card. A giant ball of red light burst out of her hands, before it shot straight for Meirin.

It hit its target, causing her to scream and fall over on her face. Checking to make sure she was unconscious this time (I doubt even a youkai can stay awake after being picked up and dropped on her head three times), I choked our enemy, and, with Keine behind me, proceeded up to the mansion.

"Mokou, that was great!" Keine said, slightly louder than she needed to. "The way you hit her in the head, and caught her off guard! Amazing!"

"Indeed," an unfamiliar voice rumbled from the darkness. "It was also quite loud. Could you refrain from instigating any more distracting conflicts during your stay?" Walking towards us was a figure as white as a ghost, and as short as a child. The moonlight reflected off the crescent on her hat, while her face was obscured by the darkness. "It seems that you have taught our gate guard a lesson in common courtesy and respect for guests. Not an easy task for someone outside this mansion. Then again, she is severely handicapped by her near inability to learn magic more complicated than childish harassment, so I doubt that it was extremely difficult to defeat her once the conflict turned away from physical force."

"The great magician, Patchouli Knowledge, correct?" Keine asked slowly, while I still processed the speech we had just been given.

"Correct. I was present the entire time, after Hong Meirin had disturbed my reading with her irritatingly loud voice. Due to the fact that I did not attempt to hinder you, it can be assumed that I am either friendly or neutral. However, it would be wise to be cautious, as I may be a foe attempting to gain your trust by sacrificing her comrades. Regardless-"

"Patchouli, I'll handle this." A spine-chillingly familiar voice broke into our conversation, but the voice itself did not unnerve me as much as its owner did. The young girl with the long, white hair stepped out from the front steps, sounding extremely tired. "You'll just bore them to sleep with your overcomplicated explanation of everything. Just go back inside or something." As Patchouli nodded, bowed, and returned to the mansion, the girl turned to us.

"Sakuya Izayoi, maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. You're not allowed to just walk up to Remilia without an invitation, so I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

"We want to speak with Lady Remilia, and I'll gladly cut you down to get through." Even though I was using all the willpower I had to restrain myself, I could not keep a tone of contempt from my voice.

"That's not the problem..." Sakuya responded, taken aback by my response. "She's currently in her study, and doesn't want to be disturbed. And besides, I doubt you would get very far against me." There was no boasting in her voice, just calm self-confidence. The same self-confidence that was in "We have come for your head."

"We have taken out your gate guard. That alone proves that we are not to be taken lightly."

"China?" Sakuya laughed, noticing the body behind us for the first time. "Oh, she'll be alright. Annoyingly resilient, yes, but not a threat. She's not much of a guard, more of... a first line of defense." She put her arms up, and, without another movement, had two knives in her hands. "I'm the mistress' personal bodyguard. Everyone besides Remilia answers to me."

"Very well. Once again, we ask that you allow us to see the mistress. If not, please allow us to stay here for the night."

"Sure, I guess it can't hurt." Thinking for a moment, Sakuya added, "I guess I'll ask if you can see her in the morning. After all, even though China is laughably weak in comparison, defeating her is no small thing for two humans." Sounding genuinely impressed, she led us inside. "I'll have the fairies prepare your rooms. Don't go in there," she pointed to a door in the hallways, "that leads to the... kitchens. That door over there leads to Patchouli's library. It's so well-protected that even I have to dodge several traps just to bring her her meals. Those doors lead to the basement and the observatory, respectively. Just... don't go into any rooms besides your own. You probably won't like what you find." She laughed softly, "this IS a house run by a vampire, after all. And... that's it, I guess. I'll wake you up in the morning. Leaving your room before then wouldn't be the smartest thing to do. After all, I have nothing better to do in the mornings than stand here and throw knives at doors as they open." Her voice didn't indicate if she was joking. I seriously prayed that she was.

Deciding not to inquire further, I followed the fairies upstairs, with Keine behind me. Once the two of us reached our respective rooms, we said good night to each other, and stepped inside.

I took a deep breath as I entered mine. In contrast to the traditional, bare decorations of Eientei, the mansion was clearly built with luxury in mind. The walls were painted with ornate designs, the furniture was made out of beautiful black wood that I had never seen before in Gensokyo. There were two doors on the side wall. Holding a spell card in my hand, I carefully approached the door on the left and slowly opened it. It was a closet filled with linens and foreign clothing.

Closing it, I opened the one on the right. It led to a large bathroom, where a few fairies holding towels were chatting amongst themselves. "Need anything?" one asked, as they all turned to me.

Shaking my head, I closed the door, and almost fainted with amazement. Such beauty and extravagance...

Then, as quickly as awe gripped me, fatigue set in. Yawning loudly, I fell into the bed, and sank into it. Shaking my head, I stepped out of it, and laid a blanket out on the floor, deciding to sleep there instead.

It was no wonder that the bodyguard was so powerful. Such a wealthy woman must need all the protection she could afford.


	14. Remilia

A/N: Yeah, I kinda realized that this story is turning into a little tour through my perception of Gensokyo, but I guarantee you that I have a plot in mind, and...

Well, something's coming up. Stay tuned.

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**Chapter 13: Remilia**

Scarlet Devil Mansion  
Morning of the 19th Day

"Mokou, wake up! Hurry up!" Keine's voice invaded my sleep, crushing what little of it was left. Fearing the worst, I jumped out of bed, checking my surroundings.

"You're so jumpy..." Keine giggled, adjusting her hat. "Anyway, the reason I told you to hurry up is because, well... Step outside for a moment."

Obeying without thinking (it appeared that Sakuya had, in fact, been joking the previous evening), I opened the door and looked at the main hall.

As Keine stood beside me, I was treated to yet another surprise by the residents.

Beneath us, we could see Meirin and Sakuya arguing, both in a fighting stance.

"Honestly, China! Attacking anyone and everyone who comes near the gates isn't a good way to run a mansion," she paused, as if to silently add, "And goodness knows that I'm the only one running this place."

"It was dark, and I had no orders regarding visitors! Isn't it only natural for me to attack anyone suspicious?"

"What if it was one of Yukari's henchmen, or that shrine maiden? Do you want to start another incident?"

"If they were, I would have recognized them! And I can tell the difference between a human and a youkai, and they were definitely human. Didn't the mistress order me to keep all suspicious looking humans away?"

"Just... shut up." Sakuya mumbled, holding her head. "Look, the point is, ask first, shoot later. And another thing-"

"Sakuya! Where the hell is my breakfast?"

The argument was immediately broken up by the entrance of a small girl wearing a scarlet dress. As she walked in, complaining, both servants snapped to attention.

"I have a gate to guard!" Hong Meirin said, excusing herself before she faced the morning temper of her employer.

"I was about to prepare it," Sakuya began, sounding a lot less stern than she did a few moments ago, "but Meirin distracted me, and-"

"Forget that idiot!" the girl screamed, balling up her hands into a fist. "Look, the point is, I'm hungry, I'm up early, and there's nothing to eat. Hurry up and fix it!" After she was done yelling, you could almost see the steam rising up from her ears. "You two!" she said, turning to us, "Never seen a bad tempered vampire before? Staring at your host... You Japanese are all the same! Go away before I have Sakuya cook you!" Storming off, she left everyone in a state of shock.

"It would be wise to go back into your rooms," Sakuya called to us coldly. "Now."

Without waiting for another invitation, Keine and I turned and reentered our rooms. As I walked into the bathroom to prepare for the day, I had to practically poke the fairies to bring them out of their daze.

The grim silence continued for the rest of the morning, so I holed myself up in my room, thinking of the next course of action.

* * *

Scarlet Devil Mansion  
Afternoon of the 19th Day

"Fujiwara no Mokou, Lady Remilia has allowed you to see her." After I was done being startled by this sudden break in silence, I thanked Sakuya (judging by the voice), and, slowly reorganizing my thoughts, left the room.

Similar to that morning, the house was still relatively quiet. However, rather than a complete standstill, the main hall was filled with fairies flying to and fro, carrying all sorts of things from room to room.

"Think she'll eat us?" a voice behind me asked.

I turned around to see the girl from earlier, grinning widely to show off her fangs. It was all I could do to keep from either fainting from fear, or trying to kill her out of revenge. At this range, there could be no mistake.

This girl was Remilia Scarlet, one of the assassins from the Full Moon Incident.

"Remilia Scarlet..." I muttered, not knowing what to say.

"Yep. Anyway, I'm on my way to lunch, if you want to join me."

I stood there, dumbstruck. I had heard the rumors concerning the appetite of the Scarlet Devil.

Remilia looked at me for a second, then burst out laughing. "Oh, no. It's just vegetables and a little beef. Or it could be your friend. Then again, if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" She took a moment to savor the look on my face, and added, "Keine all but runs the village. It wouldn't be smart to kill her. And as for you..."

"I doubt you could," I said, finishing her sentence.

"Exactly. Anyway, lunch." Turning around, she jumped down over the railing, before unfolding two decently sized wings for her parachute. Landing gracefully in the main hall, she walked through a door to my left, motioning me to follow.

Not wanting to annoy her, I walked down the stairs as quickly as I could (I did not want to risk upsetting Sakuya by running), and went through the door that Remilia had entered.

Once again, I was amazed by the absurdly fancy decorations. It would take too much time to describe, but it is a shame that such taste is considered an oddity, a foreign thing.

As I was appreciating the room, I was introduced to the new feeling of having a knife point pressed to my back. "Are you going to stand there and make us wait, or are you going to sit down?" Sakuya's voice hissed, showing that she still hadn't gotten over this morning.

Resisting the urge to start a fight with her, I silently sat down across from Remilia, waiting for her to speak.

"So, the interrogation begins!" Remilia declared, as she ruthlessly ripped apart her food. "Question number one, why are you here?"

"To speak with you," I answered, wondering what the point of this was.

"That's a little obvious," Remilia replied, making me wonder how she managed to speak so energetically without letting any food out of her mouth. "What'd you want to talk about?"

I hesitated, wondering what I should say. "I wanted to ask you about the Lunarians..." I paused, trying to find out exactly why I came here.

"Oh, about that thing with the full moon? I didn't apologize for that, did I? I mean, not that I really have any reason to. I'm a vampire, not some kinda shrine maiden."

"I didn't come here regarding the assassination, I wanted to know..." Then it came to me. "I need information on Eientei. I want to destroy it, and I was wondering if there was even a chance you could help me."

"I'm not in the business of starting wars," Remilia shook her head, gesturing for another plate of food.

I looked down, noticing I had not even touched mine. Some odd looking vegetables.. some rice... It didn't look unappetizing, so I figured I would at least give it a chance.

Looking pleased at my reaction, Remilia leaned over to me, and muttered, "Kidding. It is your friend."

Should I feign horror, or should I laugh? I wasn't naive enough to think that they would actually kill Keine (and if they did, I would definitely have heard her put up a fight), but I did not want to offend Remilia.

"Yeah, I know. Bad joke, you don't have to react. Anyway, I don't like to start wars that don't directly profit me. The only fighting I do now is, as you've seen, with Sakuya, not that she deserves it. Show me what I can gain from this."

It was a hard question, but I was amazed that she had asked it. Was she more eager to fight than she let on...? Or, like Kaguya, was she bored?

"Eientei's sage is said to possess an unimaginable amount of rare ingredients and-"

"That's not my concern. Patchy's, maybe, but not mine. Next!"

"Eientei has strong, ancient Lunar magic. As a vampire, control over the night would be a good thing, correct?"

"Good point. I can't say I haven't thought about it, but I'll accept that you've made a good argument. Anything else?"

"You would remove another powerful being from Gensokyo. After the recent string of incidents, isn't destroying a connection to the moon a good thing? If we eliminate Kaguya and Eirin, we will hear no more from their kind."

Rather than replying, Remilia broke out laughing. "Why would I care? So the Lunarians are drinking sake and chanting to the moon. That doesn't really bother me. If you want to work that angle, as Sakuya. She seemed upset over the fact that someone had the nerve to mess with time. Someone besides her, of course."

Nodding, I accepted the fact that Remilia was completely intent on not helping me. After all, why would she help someone who just expected her to besiege a powerful foe on a whim?

"So, that's it? You came here, politely asked me to do something massively stupid, and you're just going to walk out? At least finish your meal first." Remilia, who was already on her third plate, stared at me, as if trying to read my mind.

"Wait a minute..." I put my fork (another thing I found odd) down, and poked my food. "Where is Keine?"

"Smart, aren't you?" Remilia giggled, baring her fangs. "Was it a joke...? Or was it not...? You've never tasted a human, so you wouldn't know."

The color drained from my face. She was joking, if common sense could be trusted. Then again, the rumors... "Remilia, stop this. Where is she?"

"Meirin was more than happy to choke her in her sleep. A karmic death, you know..." She was almost beside herself with glee. Someone this excitable couldn't be sane, but somebody insane would...

Oh... Oh my gods...

"Remilia!"

Remilia stood up, testing the sharpness of one of her claws. "And, now... It's been fun."

Before I could react, she jumped over the table, landing on me. I screamed in surprise as she was laughing uncontrollably. Scratching my stomach, she jumped back onto the floor, staring at me.

A red spot was forming on my shirt, as I could feel a warm trickle down my stomach. "H-Hourai Doll!" I shouted back, not even bothering to set up the spell.

As a result, it exploded in my hands, sending both me and my foe flying backwards.

"You idiot!" Remilia shouted through the thick haze, her hands in front of her face, "You can't even cast a proper spell!"

"Imperishable-" I began, ready to see just how immortal I was.

"MOKOU, what the heck ARE YOU DOING?" Keine's voice echoed through the dining room, causing me to stop.

As I stood there, dumbfounded, Remilia's laughter increased tenfold. "You seriously thought I'd eat her! You really are such an idiot! Anyway, I like you. Good job. I give you permission to use my servants however you want, within reason."

"Remilia, what were you thinking?" Keine shouted, joined by Sakuya who had just burst onto the scene. Keine looked annoyed, Sakuya looked absolutely furious about the cleaning she would have to do.

"Sorry, sorry. It was fun." Remilia said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"To try and test me... What would cause you to think that you have that right?"

"Actually, I just wanted to try something like that. After all, typically when I say things like that, it's not a joke. So..."

Rather than think about that statement, I quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, you recommended that I speak to Patchouli about my objective?"

"Yeah, sure. If she says no, just hit her in the head or something," Remila answered, sounding totally unconcerned about her librarian's well being.

"Thank you," I said, starting to leave the room. I could feel Keine and Sakuya glaring at me, and, from their points of view, with good reason.

"I'm not helpless, Mokou," Keine muttered, before walking over to the table.

"Once I'm done cleaning, I'll be using your blood to paint over the scratches, " Sakuya threatened, shaking with anger.

Not wanting to give her an opportunity to prove her honesty, I walked through the main hall, and, taking a deep breath, put my hand on the knob of the basement door.

Instantly, a chill ran down my spine, as I slowly opened it.

"There's a booby trap on every fourth stair, and using any magic here would result in extreme pain," a deep voice boomed, seeming to come from above. "Remilia has found you acceptable, I have not. Make your way to me without getting killed, and I will follow you. Smacking me on the head is not required."

"How does she know these things...?" I muttered, amazed.

"It is the business of a librarian to know as much as she can, correct? I am not regarded as the most powerful wizard in the area just for having a large library."

Making sure to count every fourth step, avoid anything with an odd glow, and keep from tripping in the darkness, I didn't relax for a single moment.

"Oh, and about what Sakuya said earlier..." the voice returned, sounding as monotone as it had before, "I quite enjoy watching the mice run through the maze. In between reading, writing, and researching, I need to find time to amuse myself."

I had to admire her honesty. And, as I swatted down a floating book with a pentagram inscribed on it, I also had to admire her paranoia and genius.

* * *

A/N: Yes, Patchy is a genius. A crazy awesome one, at that. Ummm... Yeah...


	15. Patchouli

**Chapter 14: Patchouli**

Voile Library  
Late Afternoon of the 19th Day

Duck, jump, shoot that down... After row after row of this hellish library, I began to wonder if I had descended into the depths of the Netherworld without realizing it. Of course, I am immortal, ruling out that possibility.

"You there!" a voice called out suddenly, as a red-haired demon confronted me. As she stepped out, everything around me seemed to stop. "Don't run amok in Patchouli's study!"

"Koakuma, your flattery is appreciated, but your lack of originality is not," Patchouli's monotone voice boomed, for the first time in quite a while.

"The point is," the demon continued, "you're making a mess of things. Patchouli does not take kindly to people who leave her library in shambles. En garde!" On these words, she jumped back, and adopted an aggressive stance.

Apparently, she was looking for a fight (at least, that's what I assumed "en garde" meant). Responding with a nod, I also stepped back a few paces, watching her carefully.

"Koakuma, I expect that you will recopy each and every book you destroy?" Patchouli's voice muttered, clearly conveying her interest in the fight.

"Yes ma'am!" Koakuma saluted, looking close to tears after this statement.

Stepping in front of a book shelf, I thought for a moment. "You may have the first strike."

Realizing her predicament, Koakuma tried to move to an angle where she could hit me without damaging any books. In an attempt to foil her, I kept readjusting myself.

"C-coward!" Koakuma screamed, growing irritated.

I smiled as genuinely as I could, responding with, "Are you going to attack me, or are you going to insult me?"

"Ha! Your mistake! You're in the open!"

She was right, I had moved between the shelves, giving her a clear shot.

Although I could not understand the language she was using, she was clearly casting. Reflexively, I dropped to the ground, letting the rather weak attack pass harmlessly over me. In fact, the only damage it caused was temporarily blinding me with the bright glow, causing the library to go dark again after the spell dissipated.

Fumbling through the near-total darkness, my night vision gone, I decided it would be best to stay down, and hope that my foe was blinded by her own attack as well. After a few moment, I slowly rose to my feet, still on my guard.

"Where're you going?" the demon taunted, meaning that I was probably facing the wrong way. Clearly, my hopes were in vain.

Turning towards the direction of the voice, I heard something fly past my ear. Had she thrown something at me, and missed? Or was she attempting to scare me?

"Right here," her voice muttered into my ear, as something gripped my arms. "Oh, Patchouli will be so happy with me. I caught an intruder!" Feeling her claws dig into my arm, I sighed heavily.

"I'm actually here to see Patchouli, and she's expecting me..." I muttered, knowing she wouldn't pay attention.

"I heard nothing of the sort. Don't worry, Patchouli won't kill you, well, not personally. She'll either use you to test magic, or hand you over to the others. I can't exactly say which is worse."

Keeping silent, I waited for what would come next. The answer was two quick jabs to the arm, rendering them momentarily useless.

"Meirin taught me that, didn't get a chance to use it. Anyway, the joke's on you, I guess, because Patchouli was closer than you realized."

Dragging me down the aisle, to the other side of the bookshelves, she brought me over to a small table, and shoved me in the chair.

"Koakuma, you imbecile!" Patchy hissed. This time, her voice was close, and irate, rather than booming, emotionless, and omnipresent.

Before I could react, I was once again blinded, this time by a flash of light in front of me. When my eyes readjusted, I found myself sitting across the table from a short, tired looking figure, dressed almost completely in white.

"Patchouli?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Indeed. As I have stated, if you made your way to me, I would follow you. Technically, you have." She glared at Koakuma, who was nervously staring at her hands. "As you have most likely guessed, this library is impossibly large, even for me. That would be due to the maid's tampering with it. However, no matter where you were, this area was always across the aisle. Your failure to find it is forgivable. After all, my defenses tend to overwhelm even the strongest of creatures. All but the sneakiest are repelled."

Rather than arguing or questioning, I simply nodded. "My objective is to destroy Eientei, the House of Eternity."

"I've heard," Patchouli responded, staring me straight in the eye. "It appears our goals are similar, then, even if our motives are different."

"They are?" I asked, sounding more surprised than I meant to.

"Indeed. I do not seek its destruction, no, but an assault would benefit me greatly. The sage possesses a wealth of knowledge that might perhaps rival this library. Needless to say, it is a librarian's duty to collect all knowledge available. And her stock of ingredients is rumored to be legendary. For this reason, I will join you, so long as my objective is not destroyed."

"You would be willing to join me?" I repeated, unable to believe her words. "That's wonderful! When can we-"

"With only two, this is little more than an execution for those foolish enough to attack the Lunarians," she interrupted, correctly guessing my next question. "I can persuade Koakuma to help," Koakuma shuddered at these words, but nodded quietly, "and, if I spin my words well enough, we may even have the mistress and Sakuya joining us."

I was almost in shock. To join so readily... "In that case, I have a plan."

"As do I, but that can wait. For now, we should not order troops that we do not have. Come, we shall go request their help."

"My arms..." I reminded her, hesitantly.

"Koakuma, fix what you break. Are you a child?" she scolded, causing the demon to nearly faint with terror.

"Yes ma'am..." she muttered, grabbing both of my arms tightly, and squeezing them a few times. After a minute, I could feel my upper limbs again.

"Very well. Come." Patchouli ordered, leading us out of the library.

* * *

Scarlet Devil Mansion  
Evening of the 19th Day

After escaping from that horrible library, I followed Patchouli and Koakuma into the dining room, where the rest of the residents were eating dinner.

"Remilia!" Patchouli declared dramatically, pointing at the vampire, "I desire to speak with you!"

"Huh? Oh, sure!" Remilia said through a mouthful of food, standing up and walking over to us.

"Remilia, for the good of Voile Library, I have found it necessary to obtain certain information-"

"Get on with it."

"Fujiwara no Mokou and I have committed ourselves to attacking Eientei, for our own motives."

"Good, knew you'd do it. Try not to get killed, okay?" Remilia sounded slightly concerned, but masked it over with a tone of carelessness.

"I request your aid in this matter, as it would directly benefit you to have access to the secrets kept by the Lunarians."

"Alright, if you say so. Sakuya, come on, we're going on a trip." Apparently, the same argument was more convincing coming from her own, understandable, yet...

"Yes mistress, I shall prepare immediately." Without another word, Sakuya stood up, and walked out of the room.

"I'll give my life to you, Remilia!" Hong Meirin shouted, knocking over her glass as she stood up. "I would be honored to assist you!"

"Stop trying to outdo everyone else, Meirin. I need you to guard the mansion. And stay awake while you do. I'll know, with Patchouli's help." Remilia grinned widely, showing her fangs. Meirin nodded and left the room.

"Keine, you agreed to help me!" I called out to her, not wanting to make it look like I was ignoring her.

"I said I'd accompany you, actually. But... sure." I could see the utter joy on her face, once I offered her a chance for battle.

"I have a plan, milady." Patchouli said. "If we could tamper with the moon, to throw them off, and attack them when they are confused, we would have the greatest odds of success."

Remilia nodded, "You do that. Take care of it. All I wanna do is find out what rabbit tastes like.

Brushing that image from my mind, I ran some calculations in my head. Even with all of us, we should be able to reach Eientei before two days.

By the Fujiwara Clan, Eientei will fall!


	16. Revenge

A/N: I'm at the 15 document limit. I'm a packrat, so I don't want to have to delete my earlier chapters. T_T

Anways... yeah.

* * *

**Chapter 15**: **Revenge**

Path to the Human Village  
Morning of the 20th Day

"Milady, I do not mean to delay our mission, but it appears that I require another rest, and-" Patchouli began moaning, once again.

"Patchouli, I respect your amazing skill as a magician, librarian, and servant, but, with all due respect, you will not live to see Voile again if you sit down before we reach the village," Remilia responded in a sweet tone, that contrasted sharply with her words.

"Y-yes, milady..." Patchouli muttered, before mumbling something that sounded much darker under her breath.

We, which refers to Keine, Remilia, Patchouli, Sakuya, and myself, had been walking since daybreak, but still had not reached the village. This was mainly due to Patchouli's poor stamina, which forced her to walk at a slower pace. I honestly wondered why Remilia didn't simply carry her on her back.

"Patchouli, if you want, I could whip you into shape. After all, after I began training Hong Meirin, she had no problem with long distance running," Sakuya teased, fingering one of her knives.

"N-no, Sakuya, I respectfully decline."

"It's not too far off, now..." Keine declared, pointing at a small clearing in the woods.

"We're not even there yet?" Remilia pouted, glaring at Patchouli.

"We have time, we can wait," I broke in, trying to restrain myself from voicing anything else.

"Right, then. Patchouli, take a break. That's an order," Remilia commanded, pointing at a nearby stump.

Thanking her profusely, the mage seated herself on the stump, producing a small flask of a blue liquid from her robes. Uncorking it and emptying it into her throat, she stood up again, smiling. "Let's go, shall we?"

"Why didn't you just drink that earlier?" Sakuya groaned, holding her knives more firmly than she was before.

"Logically, I would have had to stand still while I searched through my robes, which I assumed Remilia would have mistaken for me taking a rest. Therefore, I had to keep walking, under orders, and could not reach it."

"Well, we've been outsmarted, Sakuya," Remilia laughed, clenching her hands slightly. "She's won."

"Naturally," Patchouli smirked, now keeping up with the rest of us.

At this pace, we reached the village much quicker than I had earlier predicted.

* * *

Human Village  
Late Morning of the 20th Day

"Youkai invasion!" an irritatingly familiar voice screamed.

Walking up to our little party was none other than the local shrine maiden.

"Remilia, what are you doing?" she questioned angrily, gohei at the ready.

"This isn't my problem. Sakuya, Patchouli, explain."

"Keine had asked me to lend I disagreeistance in her educational endeavors," Patchouli responded, without even taking a moment to think.

"Remilia had requested that I accompany her for her own protection," Sakuya added.

"And I'm pretty much here because I'm really bored," Remilia finished.

"Alright, just... stay out of trouble. Actually, it's more like don't cause any trouble, because without you around, there is no trouble to get in to." Reimu sighed, looking exhausted.

"We'll try," Remilia answered, smiling broadly.

"Anyway, I need to go find out what Reisen is doing. She wanted to see you Keine."

"Reisen? She wanted to see me?" Keine repeated, looking slightly worried. "I must go." She broke off and ran for her house.

"Patchouli, we need to borrow those books from Marisa, remember?" Remilia 'reminded' her librarian, looking intently at her.

"Yes, mistress. Without delay," Patchouli added, emphasizing the last part.

"Right, well, excuse me then," Reimu muttered, walking past us.

"Convenient excuse, mistress," Sakuya muttered, once Reimu was gone.

"What excuse? We're going to beat the living snot out of that pesky magician to teach her a quick, painful lesson about stealing from an innocent vampire. Come on! Mokou, wanna come?"

"As long as we are back before too long, I doubt Keine will have a problem," I answered, remembering my debt to the golden haired witch.

"Back before she'll miss us. Let's go."

* * *

Marisa Kirisame's House  
Afternoon of the 20th Day

By the time Keine was sure to have missed us, we finally arrived at Marisa's house. Without a moment's hesitation, Remilia walked up to the door, and began banging on it.

"Marisa, you there? I want to talk to you!" she yelled, knocking so hard that I feared for the door's well being.

She stopped once we heard footsteps approaching the door. A chill went up my spine, as I noticed the footsteps were a lot lighter than Marisa's usually were. Something was off...

"Well then, it looks like the children have come for their punishment," an even, icy voice greeted us, as Eirin appeared at the door. "And Mokou, it's convenient for you to return to the scene of the crime. I thank you."

We could do nothing but stare. How could she have known we were coming?

"Half lucky guess, half excellent surveillance," Eirin broke the silence, correctly guessing our thoughts. "Mokou, you're so simple... But, more than that, Yukari and Rumia presented some interesting intelligence that I could not ignore yesterday. It seemed as if Yukari just wanted something to amuse her, while Rumia... It was not a wise move to attack her, if I can properly guess her motives."

"Yeah, yeah. Good for you, you've read our mind," Remilia yawned, sounding bored. "Step outside and I would be glad to fight you personally. It's understandable to want an opportunity to fight Remilia Scarlet. Everyone does."

"Fool," Eirin muttered, turning back to us. "I'm just here to confirm my suspicions. If you'll excuse me, I must return to Eientei."

Without waiting for us to move, she stepped around us, and, by the time we had recovered from shock, was out of our range.

"KIRISAME!" Remilia screamed, enraged.

"You want somethin'?" her reply came, as her heavy footsteps were heard.

"Get out here, so I can teach you a little something about-" Remilia started to threaten, but stopped short when the blond magician appeared.

Or, more specifically, Alice.

"Marisa's unconscious, you idiot," Alice laughed, poking Remilia with a kitchen knife. "And, because of that, you've interrupted my cooking. You got a problem or something?"

"What are you doing in Marisa's house?" Remilia screamed, one insult away from ripping apart the closest thing she could reach.

"Simple. Marisa and Mokou were planning something, I came over here to stop it. Even someone like _you_ can understand that, right?" Alice showed no regret for her actions, even while she implied that she invaded Marisa's home, assaulted her, and took it over.

"Where is Marisa?" I asked, trying to stay on subject.

"Unconscious in her room," Alice answered. She looked at the knife, and added, "No, I didn't kill, stab, or injure her."

"Good to know," Remilia answered, still restraining herself. "I _was_ going to teach the magician a lesson, but you look like you could use some lessons in basic etiquette."

"Allow me, mistress!" Sakuya and Patchouli both called out.

"Three on one? I foolishly decline." Alice smirked, and started to close the door.

The smirk vanished from her face, as Sakuya vanished and reappeared behind Alice. Remilia was clapping softly.

"Rejected," Sakuya said flatly, slowly pushing Alice out the door.

"Get that knife off of me, assassin! How dare you pull such a dirty-"

"Shut up or you'll receive an inch of steel in your back. Although I pride myself on my cleanliness, Remilia has no such love of neatness, and cares little for her victims."

Alice's face went white, as she slowly stepped outside.

"Good girl," Sakuya 'complimented' her, taking the knife from her back. "Now that you know this, I expect that you will, naturally, try not to lose."

"This isn't fair!" Alice screamed, waving her kitchen knife in the air.

"Neither is turning your house into a living nightmare," I responded, eager to watch what was sure to happen next.

"Alrighty then..." Remilia said, putting down her umbrella (the canopy of the forest was thick enough to block out mass amount of light). "Get ready to die, puppet master, I'm your opponent."

I watched with rapt attention, not wanting to miss a single detail.

* * *

A/N: Heh heh heh...


	17. The Duel

A/N: Before you flip out on me for being lazy, I'd like to point out that I'm not your slave, so GO TO HELL.

In all seriousness, however, I couldn't get to a computer for the past two days.

Then, I realized that this story shouldn't consume my life. So... yeah.

Read, review...

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 16: The Duel**

Marisa Kirasame's House  
Afternoon of the 20th Day

Alice's face turned from a milky white to something whiter than the purest snow. "You'll regret this!" she mumbled, trying to steady her hands as she drew herself up to her full height.

"I haven't regretted anything for centuries," Remilia countered, making a huge display of licking her fangs. "And I probably won't start now."

"She's not going to eat her, is she...?" I mumbled to Patchouli, who was standing next to me, with a bored expression on her face.

"Despite the mistress' horrible reputation, she has little taste for raw flesh, and rarely ever so much as kills them. Counterproductive in some cases, but she really is more merciful than she appears. Either that or she doesn't like cleaning up messes. After all these years, I still am unsure."

Slightly relieved (As much as I hated her, I had no desire to see Alice eaten), I turned my attention back to the duel.

"Alright, the ground rules," Alice began, still shivering.

"There are none, actually," Remilia interrupted, smiling. "If I am somehow incapacitated, I order Sakuya to step in. Although you have no chance of defeating Sakuya, Patchouli will step in after that, and Mokou behind her. Consider it your repayment for my help."

"You can't do this! This is shameless murder!"

"Shut up. Here I come!" Remilia rose a few feet in the air, her bat wings effortlessly supporting her weight. Turning towards Alice, she shot towards the ground, nothing but a scarlet blur.

"Red-Haired Dutch Dolls!" Alice squealed, throwing her hands up in front of her face. A flash of light from her hands indicated that she had used a spellcard, which was confirmed by a circle of dolls appearing around her.

Remilia was just quick enough to reach Alice before the appearance of the dolls, but, due to her speed, the blow wasn't powerful enough to knock Alice unconscious. Alice hit the ground with a thump, and, for the moment, decided to stay down. Alice's dolls turned to the two, and began shooting streams of magic at Remilia.

"No fair, no fair! Now it's twenty on one!" Remilia laughed, jumping back. Alice was muttering rapidly with her eyes closed, making odd gestures on the ground.

"To control so many..." Remilia said, dodging the multiple streams that were flying towards her, while decommissioning as many of the dolls as she could reach. "You're an excellent puppet master. But you're just that. A puppet master."

"Foggy London Dolls!" Alice screamed out, once her first wave was destroyed. A mass of dolls formed around Alice, and began flying outwards in all directions.

"Down!" Sakuya yelled, as all spectators fell to the ground. The dolls shot over our heads. Even Remilia was hit by several of them, which only served to amuse her even further.

"Alright, alright, I give up," Remilia said, bowing majestically.

"Ha! Even the Scarlet Devil couldn't beat me!" Alice said, jumping up and making a rude gesture.

"Correct. I'm actually starting to break a sweat fighting some egotistical child, and I'd rather not damage these clothes. As was the agreement, Sakuya will take over. Sakuya, kill her."

"Understood, mistress," Sakuya nodded, smiling slightly.

"Wha? But... Coward!" Alice screamed, realizing Remilia's plan.

"What?" Remilia asked, grinning. "You thought I would give you false confidence by surrendering, only to break the unfortunate news to you, causing you to nearly wet yourself with fear for my own amusement? It appears that you already understand me. A pity you will have to die."

Alice started to hyperventilate, and was moving unsteadily. "Oh... I'm going to die... I'm going to die... YOU'RE ALL COMING TO HELL WITH ME! SUICIDE SQUADRON!"

Just like our engagement at her house, several dolls appeared around her, and began homing in on everyone in the area. Remilia simply batted them down, and Sakuya shot them down with her knives.

On the ground, however, Patchouli and I had no such luck. I was able to barely fend them off by quickly standing up and swatting them away, but the mage was cowering in a ball as several hit her head on, igniting her clothing.

Patchouli screamed, and began rolling in the grass to put herself out. "M-Metal Fatigue!" she screamed, tears running down her face. Several gold orbs appeared around her, taking the hits from the dolls.

"Patchy, calm down!" Remilia called, positioning herself in front of her librarian. "Dammit! Sakuya, make Alice suffer for this!"

"Sakuya's World!" Sakuya called out, shaking with fury as she looked at Patchouli.

Alice let out a scream, and crumpled to the ground, as Sakuya appeared behind her. As she fell, several holes were visible in her dress, along with a large dark patch in the blue fabric.

"To attack a librarian..." Sakuya screamed with rage, stopping herself from adding a few more stabs, "How dare you, you scum! The fact that you are youkai is the only reason that you won't be Remilia's next meal! You sicken me!"

"Sakuya, calm down," Patchouli scolded, wiping the ashes off of her charred robes. "She cannot hear you."

"Shut up, Patchouli! She better pray the she never-"

"Sakuya!" Remilia shouted, helping Patchouli stand. "Enough!"

"Yes, mistress."

"Patchouli, come with me back to the Human Village. Keine should be able to get new robes for you. Sakuya, Mokou, take whatever you want from Marisa's house. Mokou, keep Sakuya from leaving a trail of blood behind her." Remilia's orders were short and to the point, as her two underlings nodded obediently.

"Find my books, if you can," Patchouli added, before a coughing fit.

"Come on, let's go." Remilia muttered, leading her librarian back towards the village, and leaving me alone with Sakuya.

"Right." Sakuya mumbled, calming herself down. "There's no point in being out here. Let's go inside."

I followed her inside, and took a moment to look around the house. It seemed as if all the missing items in Gensokyo went here when they were lost.

Oh, that's right. Marisa was a thief. They probably did.

Her house contained things from the Netherworld, the Mansion, Eientei, the Shrine, the Village, and even a few of my own possessions.

"Has she nothing else to do besides steal from others?" I wondered aloud, pocketing a interesting looking gems.

"No, she actually spends most of her time studying. I assume that's why she never returns our library books. Not that they were ever lent to her..." As Sakuya answered me, she was quickly putting together a large tower of books. "An entire shelf of Patchy's library is in here..."

"And it's mine, ya knows!"

Appearing in front of us was Marisa Kirisame, in her black robes and pointed hat. "Prepare to die, dishonorable thieves!"

Sakuya dropped her library books, and instantly produced two knives, as I tensed up.

"Naaaaah, I'm joking!" Marisa said, laughing at our reactions. "You can take 'em back, I'm done with 'em, and they're yours, anyway. Tell that library lady that her first and third volumes were very informative, but the second was a little bland. Very little of the explody spells in that one."

"Thank you for letting us reclaim what belongs to us," Sakuya said dryly, picking up everything she had dropped. "Sure, you're a saint in devil's clothing."

"Not as saintly as the most infamous assassin of our age," Marisa shot back playfully.

"Infamous? I can think of no greater compliment. Thank you," Sakuya bowed, somehow keeping all the books on her arms.

"Marisa, I cannot overlook the fact that you have now twice attacked me!" I broke in, having no time for friendly conversation.

"And I can't overlook the fact that you got that nurse all angry with me over some little game between you and that moon girl. And the first time wasn't personal. I do assassinations every day. In fact, all of Sakuya's kills are actually mine, she just doesn't know it."

"Your sense of humor is the truly fearsome thing here," Sakuya laughed, turning towards the door. "Anyways, I have all I'm here for."

"Impersonal?" I muttered, thinking. "Very well, I suppose so. Just another reason to despise an enemy I already hate. I too am done here, thank you." I walked outside, still wondering if I should forgive Marisa.

"Thanks for takin' care of that puppeteer!" Marisa called after me, as I walked out. "She was really annoyed after you humiliated her in her own territory."

I decided to forgive her.

"Alright, thank you, Marisa, for returning the books," Sakuya nodded, following me. "I'll collect the library fines next time."

"And while you're at it, let's negotiate the reimbursement for my windows destroyed in the fight."

"Fair enough, 'till next time!"

Sakuya bowed respectfully, and began walking down the trail back to the village. After surveying the aftermath of the battle from earlier, I followed her.

"You decided not to get her back for something that was your fault to begin with?" Sakuya asked me after we had walked for a few moments.

"I would have nothing to gain," I responded, deep in thought.

"Then why are we attacking Eientei?" Sakuya questioned.

"For Patchouli," I responded, knowing what she was trying to do.

"Right, and that's the only reason."

Both of us went silent for a few minutes, before Sakuya began casual conversation. We talked about everything that didn't involve my vendetta, and the journey seemed to take little time at all.

Keine, Sakuya, Kaguya...

* * *

Human Village  
Night of the 20th Day

As we walked into the village, I couldn't help but notice that people seemed to run inside their homes as soon as they saw us. Sakuya noticed too, and look slightly embarrassed by it.

"I thought you came into the village often to buy things for Remilia," I remarked to Sakuya, who was trying to ignore the minor panic.

"During the day, always. At night, they seem to forget that I'm also human, and regard me as the embodiment of death itself. It's not like I'd be cruel enough to murder them in their homes. Only those who are foolish enough to wander alone at night become food for the mistress."

The calm that accompanied her words sent a chill down my spine, but also gave me a new dimension of respect for her loyalty.

"A-anyway..." Sakuya said, sounding frustrated, "We're here."

We stopped in front of Keine's house, and knocked on the door.

"Oh no, the bringer of death has arrived at my door to kill me in my sleep!" Keine giggled as she opened the door. "Come on in, so long as you don't kill anyone in here."

"I doubt she could!" Remilia answered from inside, as I saw her sprawled out on the ground. "Sakuya's a really nice person on the inside."

"Indeed, she is so kind, that I don't believe she would so much as harm a fly, much less kill a human," Patchouli chimed in.

"Sure, you can joke," Sakuya sighed. "You didn't have to kill that witch up in the forest."

"S-Sakuya! You killed her?" Keine shouted, taking a step back.

"No, it was a joke. Now step aside and let me in. I'm hungry."

"Fill yourself up before tomorrow," Remilia ordered her, "Patchouli's going to work on the moon spell tomorrow, and we attack tomorrow night."

"Wonderful!" I exclaimed, as I fell down onto a bedroll.

Tomorrow night...

* * *

A/N: HEH HEH HEH... I can't wait...

Oh, I had to change "darnit" to "Dammit!" in this chapter, because of a filter on the site that I first post my stories on. It's kinda lolcakes, I know. If it has changed any other words, please let me know...


	18. The Assault

**Chapter 17: The Assault**

Keine's House  
Morning of the 21st Day

"Get up, minion!" Someone kicked me in my side, jolting me awake. I looked up from the ground to see a smiling Remilia, backed by her two servants.

"Tonight, we will loot and pillage. Today, we prepare!" she said, sounding like a general commanding thousands of troops. "Patchouli, ready the spell. Sakuya, ready the food. Mokou, ready the spellcards!"

"I don't work for you..." I sleepily mumbled, before I could stop myself.

Bad move. Remilia's face darkened as her smile widened. "I would ask you if you want to die, but I know you can't which is even better for me. I can show you the hell you are missing if you don't GET UP RIGHT NOW!"

I jumped to my feet, and saluted Remilia, fully alert.

"Better. Anyway, like I said, start making your spell cards. Everyone else already made theirs at dawn. When you're done, see me for further orders."

I nodded, and found some paper and ink to start the task. After an hour of careful writing, I had a few spellcards to arm myself with, along with a little something to greet the rabbits with.

"Task complete!" I saluted again, walking over to Remilia.

"Good. Sakuya made lunch, and it's not good to fight hungry. Get a meal and take a break until about four-ish."

"Alright!" I shouted, wondering why I was taking orders from her in the first place. Probably because she was unbelievably scary when she wanted to be.

Walking into the kitchen, I was nearly decapitated by a very frustrated Sakuya.

"Mokou! What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?" she fumed, putting her throwing knife back in its case. "Just... stay out of my way or whatever. The food is on the table. This wasn't even my idea in the first place, and Remilia's appetite is so large..." she began to ramble, stabbing a piece of meat a few more times than was necessary. "Do this, do that. And Keine barely has enough to feed herself. How do I stretch this...?"

Deciding that it would be best to leave her alone, I walked over to the table and sat down. Picking up my fork and knife, I jumped back as a silver knife was embedded into the table. "Don't you dare eat Remilia's food! Yours is the other one! Are you trying to drive me insane?"

Moving to the smaller plate on the table, I mumbled my opinion of her sanity, and began eating.

To Sakuya's credit, the food was absolutely delicious, and I could find nothing to criticize. A truly excellent cook.

As I was eating, Patchouli walked in, looking as bored as usual. "Sakuya, Remilia want to remind you not to burn the food again."

"One time, Patchouli, that was one time! Tell Remilia to find her own food if she doesn't like mine. And you, Patchouli, should shut your mouth and use a little of that logic when following Remilia's orders."

"I obey the mistress without question," Patchouli shrugged, walking back out of the kitchen.

Once I had finished my food, I thanked Sakuya (Which earned me a torrent of colorful language), and took a nap in the main room.

I had wonderful dreams of destruction and revenge.

* * *

Keine's House  
Late Afternoon of the 21st Day

"Mokou, front and center!" Remilia's voice called, accompanied by a poke to the chest. This time, Remilia was kneeling over me, wearing a ridiculous paper tricorn hat. Obviously, she was enjoying the chance to play general.

"Yes, mistress!" I rolled my eyes, lazily rubbing my eyes and falling in line with Patchouli, Sakuya, and Keine, who were standing at attention.

"Alright, here's the battle plan!" Remilia said, with her hands clasped behind her back and her chin held high. "Patchouli has been working on a spell all day that will make the moon appear to have a red dot on it. That's it. Of course, our friends at Eientei will most likely make a big fuss over it, distracting them for the evening. In their confusion, we strike like starving youkai, and burn the place to the ground!"

"Mistress, burning it would be unwise. We need the items inside it," Patchouli reminded her, sounding slightly stressed.

"Right, loot, pillage, then burn!"

"So, when do we leave?" Keine asked, smiling.

"Immediately! Sakuya, you have the supplies, right?"

"Enough to feed an army, ma'am!"

"We are an army, Sakuya! An army of five! Very well then, move out!"

Remilia stepped outside, as we all filed behind her.

"Right, break ranks or whatever," Remilia said with a wave of her hand, sounding bored with her little game.

We all followed Remilia on the path, each person preoccupied with her own thoughts.

* * *

The Path to Eientei  
Evening of the 21st Day

"Wait!" Remilia said suddenly, causing us all to stop. "Do you see that?" she said, pointing to thin air. "Here, let me show you... Red, the Nightless-"

"Don't shoot!" a voice called out, as Rumia, the Youkai of Darkness, revealed herself before us.

"So, five people, three of them are youkai, two are human. Got it. Thanks for being merciful, idiots!" Laughing, she camouflaged herself again, and flew off down the path.

"An ambush?" Keine said, looking at me.

"Probably. She's a vengeful one..."

We continued down the path in silence, fully alert. Every now and then, something would swoop over our heads, causing everybody to tense up, before it was shown to be a harmless bird.

After a few hours of walking, we all reached the clearing immediately before Eientei.

"Welcoooome!" Rumia's voice called out once we entered the clearing. "To hell!"

Out of the shadows came Rumia, Mystia, Wriggle, and Alice Margatroid.

"Sakuya's World!" Sakuya screamed, before all four fell to the ground with multiple stab wounds.

"Well that was..." Remilia began, looking around.

"Anticlimactic." I finished, confused.

"Perhaps," Patchouli muttered. "It would be best to be on our guard."

A chill went up my spine as she uttered this warning. I may not have the intuition of that shrine maiden, but even I could detect such a large feeling of danger.

"Let's keep going, no good to stop now!" Remilia urged us, sounding completely uncaring.

We obeyed, and marched on.

After another mile, we were greeted with one of the strangest sights so far. On the path in front of us was a corpse, illuminated by the fading sun. We walked up to it, and I nearly died from shock.

That red dress, black hair... Oh god...

Kaguya Houraisan, in a puddle of blood.

Dead.

"Impossible..." I breathed, as my head began to spin. "This can't be possible..."

"Excellent! She's already dead! This'll be so much easier!" Remilia said, jumping with glee.

"Oh my..." Keine muttered, holding her head. "Kaguya... She's..."

Unbelievable. It couldn't be true. Kaguya was an immortal, as I was.

"She could still be alive..." Patchouli pointed out in a monotone voice. "After all, Mokou, you have been beaten to the point of death several times, correct?"

"You're right," I confirmed, and knelt down in the blood. Placing my hands on her neck, I felt for a pulse.

My face whitened even further. Nothing.

"Let's keep going..." Remilia muttered, her mood brought low by the melancholy atmosphere. Even someone as bloodthirsty as her...?

Stepping over the corpse, we all continued on, and, finally, arrived at Eientei.

* * *

Eientei  
Night of the 21st Day

As we walked into the courtyard, which was suspiciously empty, we were greeted with an odd sight.

Kaguya in a white dress, sitting on a large chair, gazing at the moon. She was holding a bottle of sake in her hand and staring sadly.

"Good evening..." she said to us, without looking. "It's a pity, isn't it? Someone defiled the moon..." She took a large swig of sake, and sighed heavily.

"Impossible!" I shouted, feeling as if I had finally gone insane. "Kaguya... but..."

"It's a trap, Mokou," Remilia muttered to me, staring at the figure in front of us.

"No, there's no point to it anymore..." Kaguya mumbled, dropping the bottle. "Cat and mouse for so long... Why even bother now?"

"It's a trap, don't listen!" Remilia reminded, glaring evenly at Kaguya.

"Whatever. I'm going inside to sleep. Do whatever you want," Kaguya said, frustrated. She stood up, turned around, and went inside.

"It's an empty city ruse, mistress!" Patchouli whispered to Kaguya. "The enemy is unprepared, and is attempting to manipulate us."

"Oh, probably!" Remilia called out, and pointed at the house. "Then, feel free to advance!"

We walked into the courtyard, and all five of us stopped, trapped.

Hidden by the trees and darkness, the rabbits of Eientei were very plainly visible to us now. Filling the courtyard, their purpose was clear.

"I wiiiiiin!" Eirin gloated, standing at the head of the army. "You lose, Mokou. I win. Give up."

"Well..." Remilia began, looking around, "No. We refuse. Sakuya! Patchouli! ATTACK!"

The courtyard erupted into chaos, as a tidal wave of rabbits advanced on us.

"Sakuya's World!"  
"Metal Fatigue!"  
"Old History!"  
"Red the Nightless Castle!"  
"IMPERISHABLE SHOOTING!"

Looking around, I saw Sakuya vanish and reappear, leaving a trail of death and surprise in her wake. Patchouli was shooting gold coins at her assailants, while Keine and Remilia did likewise with their magic.

As soon as I declared my attack, projectiles began shooting all around me, stopping countless enemies in their tracks.

"Weak! All of 'em!" Remilia shouted, amidst her maniacal laughter.

The shooting continued for several minutes, before suddenly stopping. Once the dust cleared, the five of us were standing in a sea of unconscious rabbits. Remilia picked one up and looked at it thoughtfully, before shaking her head and putting it back down.

"That was it?" Remilia looked around, confused.

"No, not really," a carefree voice answered, as a rabbit was seen leaning against the wall. "Not like I'm here to stop you though, but don't get too cocky."

"Tewi Inaba?" Keine asked, staring at the figure.

"Yep. I'm a pacifist, so I'm not here to fight. But... Yeah, you have no chance. Anyway, see ya!" With that warning, she hopped away, munching on a rice cake.

"Be careful, you guys..." Remilia muttered, motioning for us to enter the house.

As soon as we did, the door closed behind us, and the hall was plunged into darkness.

"It's a beautiful moon..." a voice said, seemingly all around us. "What despicable person would defile it like that? Do they just hate beauty? Or maybe they want to satisfy their own egos?"

Patchouli puffed up at this, obviously proud of her handiwork.

"Or maybe," the voice continued, taunting us, "they wanted to distract a certain house of Lunarians? But, surely, their great, incredible plan is out of our realm of understanding."

"Yeah, yeah!" Remilia shouted impatiently. "You're high and might. Patchouli does this all the time. Any spellcaster who won't show themselves is probably weak, so come on out and get killed!"

"Oh..." the omnipresent voice answered, before it faded into a normal voice. "Please, take it easy on me."

"Shut up, I don't take it easy on cowards!" Remilia answered, her voice full of arrogance.

Reisen Udongein Inaba stepped out in front of us, looking nervous. "Then... Then... Y-you're gonna die!" she shouted, with all the false confidence of a coward.

"Really, now?" Remilia shot back, before shooting towards her.

"Yep!" Reisen answered, sidestepping the attack and planting a punch on Remilia's back. "Reisen Undongein Inaba, at your service. If you need help getting to the underworld, just ask!"

This house was insane...

* * *

A/N: Not my best, not my worst. I think my problem was I tried to make it too epic, and kind of failed at it. The courtyard was supposed to be more of an "OSHIT" moment, but...

Yeah.


	19. Insanity

A/N: Yeah, I apologize for the somewhat rushed pacing of the last chapter. That's what I get for posting at, like, 10-ish on a Sunday. Anyway, had to type this one twice thanks to computer problems, so be grateful!

* * *

**Chapter 18: Insanity**

Eientei  
Night of the 21st Day

"I propose a duel, then. You and me, one on one!" Remilia declared, getting up from her missed attack.

"Why don't you look me in the eye when you say that, coward?" Reisen taunted, widening her red eyes.

"Alright, if you want." Remilia slowly rose up from the ground to Reisen's eye level, and stared directly at her for a full minute.

"It appears that the infamous Red Eyes of Lunacy don't work on those who are already insane..." Remilia smirked, dropping back to the ground.

"Oh yeah? Then eat this! Mind Shaker!" Reisen stepped back and drew a spell card. Within a split second after she declared it, the world around me began to change, as my surrounding began to twist and bend. "Can you handle this?" I heard Reisen's voice taunt. It was both near and far, and every word sent a shot of pain through my head.

Holding down the urge to scream, I slowly looked around to see Sakuya and Keine on their knees, clutching their heads. Patchouli was muttering frantically, stepping back slowly.

Only Remilia seemed unaffected, and, in fact, seemed bored. "So... what?" she asked, waiting for something to happen. "Or are you giving me the first move?"

"Oh, great! I've had the misfortune of fighting an idiot!" Reisen laughed, as the pain of her words sent tears down my face.

Remilia stepped towards her slowly, studying her. "Why would you bring that up now of all times? The irony in your words is-"

" My spells attack the mind, hence the reason why the three humans are practically screaming in pain. As for the mage... Well, her mind is her whole life, right? But you... Do you even have a brain?"

"Look who's the idiot now! Vampires don't need such a simple organ to function, it's too much of a weakness. However... I can't allow you to screw with my servants at your leisure. Do you wanna die?"

Through the haze, I watched Remilia take a moment to focus herself, before lunging for Reisen. Reisen's cry of pain almost split my skull in half. Fighting to stay conscious, I thanked the adrenaline that had saved me from darkness.

My mind was now starting to recover, however, thanks to Remilia interrupting the spell. "Hang on, alright?" she shouted back at us, as she prepared to charge Reisen again.

"Alright then, eat this!" Reisen screamed, "Mind Blowing!"

It felt like someone had opened my skull and was now hitting my brain with a hammer. After the initial shockwave from the spell, my strength faded, and I fell to the ground.

* * *

Eientei  
Night of the 21st Day

"Mistress, I apologize!" my faithful librarian croaked, as I heard a muffled thump against the ground. Turning back, I realized what a horrible mistake I had made. I was greeted with the sight of my two faithful servants on the ground, unconscious. Beside them lay the two humans, who shared the same fate.

"Looks like it's an even fight, now..." the rabbit taunted me, sounding bored. "They didn't put up too much of a resistance... For the record, Master Eirin can take about a dozen of those attacks without so much as breaking a sweat."

"Shut up!" I screamed back, beating my wings slowly. I was going to make this bitch pay, regardless of what it took.

Dammit... Sakuya, Patchouli, I'll take her head off for you.

"Anyway, it's your move. It's only fair," the rabbit said, smiling at my pain.

"I'll stain my dress with your blood!" I screamed, and shot for my opponent.

It was obvious that she did not expect me to move that quickly. I caught her easily, and tackled her to the ground. Her eyes went wide with surprise, as she kicked me squarely in the stomach.

On any other day, that would have hurt. However, few people have managed to so much as harm any of my servants, much less take them out. As I prepared to silence my enemy once and for all, I was torn off of her by someone from behind me.

"Rip her apart, Reisen!" my attacker shouted next to my ear, before throwing me to the ground.

I looked up and saw that rabbit from earlier, the so called pacifist. Was that an earth rabbit...? She looked different from the other rabbits, so she must have been...

Wait, what? Why was I worried about that now? But it was so hard to stay focused...

I dragged myself up from the ground, and staggered towards the earth rabbit, intent on finishing her first.

"Well, I've done all I want to do, and it looks like you've got her!" my target said, before hopping away.

Got her...? Did she mean me...?

Before I could think anything else, I felt something break over my head, as half of a vase fell to the floor in front of me.

"Wow, your head really is hard!" Reisen called from behind me, sounding surprised. "And I thought I'd finally had you with that one. Oh well. How about this, then? Mi-"

I didn't give her a chance to finish, as I lunged for her again. Packing as much force into the attack as I could, I carried her into the wall, slamming her head against it. Rather than wait for a response, I stepped back and slammed into the wall again, crushing her body in the middle.

Her cry of pain was music to my ears, as I bit into her ear.

I spat the portion of rabbit ear out, regretting it immediately. Too furry.

However, my vampire mind couldn't ignore the blood in front of me. So tempting...

No, I had stopped doing that a while back. Letting the opportunity pass me by, I covered Reisen's nose and mouth until her breathing slowed. Once I was certain she was unconscious, I dropped her to the ground.

As much as I hated her, I could not kill someone who's only crime was obedience. It would set a bad example for my own servants.

Speaking of which, I should probably get back to them...

* * *

Eientei  
Night of the 21st Day

"Mokou, wake up!" This time, Remilia's voice was accompanied by shaking, rather than violence. I slowly opened my eyes, and noticed immediately that my head was clear once again.

"What happened?" was the first thing I could think of, and it was out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

"You're welcome," Remilia rolled her eyes, forcing a sarcastic tone. "All you need to know is that Reisen's out. Come on, we need to hurry."

It appeared that her two servants were awake, leaving only Keine. As Remilia went to make sure her minions were okay, I gently shook Keine awake, trying not to startle her after the recent experience.

Once we were all sure that we were okay, we all gathered around Remilia for our next plan of action.

"Keep going down this hall!" Remilia said, her cavalier spirit returning. "It's gotta lead to something important!"

"Indeed it does. It leads to me." Eirin Yagokoro appeared out of the darkness, wearing her calm expression. "Eirin Yagokoro, sage of Eientei. I do not take kindly to those who attempt to kill my servants. As such, I thank you for leaving Reisen alive. However, invading Eientei earns the death penalty, regardless of how saintly you are. Due to the fact that I derive no pleasure from such things, I'll leave you to your executioner. Good evening." As she finished her monologue, she turned sharply and walked back into the darkness, her feet beating against the hard wooden floor.

"I, Rumia of the Darkness, have returned from the dead!" an irritatingly childish voice rang out. "Of course, my allies and I were just faking it earlier! We're not that weak!"

I had to hand it to her... She was persistent.

* * *

A/N: No real reason for the viewpoint switch, I just liked it.


	20. The Invasion Progresses

**Chapter 19: The Invasion Progresses**

Eientei  
Night of the 21st Day

"A moment..." Patchouli called out, thinking to herself. "Rumia... I know that name..."

"If you're smart, it's the name that makes you tremble in fear!" Rumia answered, as she stepped out of the shadows to face us. "I can manipulate darkness as I please!"

"Koakuma..." Patchouli muttered, with a hint of emotion in her voice. "Tell me," she began, facing our opponent, "have you ever met a red-haired demon in the woods near the mansion?"

"You mean that really weak one?" Rumia asked, sounding uninterested. "Oh yeah, she was no problem. I've probably ambushed her at least three times already."

Patchouli balled up her hands into fists, and glared at Rumia.

"You mean to tell me," she hissed in a voice as frightening as death itself, "that not only have you attempted to kill allies of the mistress, but you have also been assaulting my servant?" She was shaking with rage, dropping the book she had in her hands.

However, despite her obvious fury, she seemed to be holding back, restraining herself. Remilia looked at her, and nodded slightly.

"Patchouli," Remilia muttered, wondering what to say. "Patchouli!" she said again, raising her voice, "It's alright, you can take her. That's an order!"

Patchouli looked back at Remilia, and although only a slight breeze could be heard, her lips formed the words, "Thank you, mistress."

Turning back to Rumia, Patchouli seemed to have regained her self control. "Coward," she addressed Rumia, picking up her book again, "although you are of the lowest orders of youkai, I trust that you have enough intelligence to understand a fair fight, correct?"

"You want to fight me?" Rumia laughed, before going silent under Patchouli's gaze. Patchouli said nothing, but did not break the stare for a moment.

"Alright, I accept," she finished, reaching into her black dress, and pulling out a spell card.

"You may cast first," Patchouli said, in a tone that suggested that she would rather just beat Rumia senseless.

"Demarcation!" Rumia called out, lighting up the hallways with bright glowing orbs.

Several waves of magic shot for Patchouli, who was surprisingly agile for someone so focused on magic. Ducking and sidestepping wave after wave, she waited for Rumia's spell to end before countering with one of her own.

"Agni Shine!" Patchouli shouted, sounding out of breath after such a short time.

A large cone of flames appeared before her, shooting for Rumia.

Rumia tried to get out of the way, but the cone widened dramatically, and caught her on its outer edges, setting her on fire.

Rumia let out a shriek, and jumped to the ground, rolling on it to put out the flames (it appears that Eirin has finally made the house resistant to flames, after so many of I disagreeaults). Rather than strike a final blow, Patchouli stood firmly, savoring the moment. After Rumia had extinguished herself, Patchouli spoke again.

"To be fair, I will give you one more spell, and then you will die. Choose your next spell wisely."

Rumia muttered something rapidly under her breath, before choosing another card. "Moonlight Ray!" her voice filled the hall, as two beams of light shot out in front of her, restricting Patchouli's movement. After a dramatic silence, a large, orange wave was shot out in the middle, giving Patchouli no way to avoid it.

Throwing her hands up in front of her face, Patchouli ducked her head and took the full assault, which knocked her to her feet.

Breathing heavily, the librarian slowly rose to her feet, and, with a look of utter calm, pulled out a card with a softly glowing blue rune on it.

"Bury in Lake," she growled, trying to hold off exhaustion for a few more moments.

A beam of ice was sent out, which Rumia avoided, laughing.

Then, a torrent of water burst out from thin air, rushing down the hall. The youkai's eyes went wide as she saw her fate coming towards her. She tried to let out a scream, but she was immersed in water before she could so much as take a breath.

Something resembling a smile crossed Patchouli's face as Rumia drowned beneath the torrent. Victory was hers.

"Fear not, it will not touch us," Patchouli said, turning to us once Rumia had stopped moving. "In a moment, the water will disappear. Unless, of course, one of the doors is opened. In that case, our job will be done for us.

However, nobody in Eientei was foolish enough to open a door and let the miniature lake rush in, so the water simply disappeared once a couple of minutes had passed, dropping Rumia to the ground with a hard thump. Unlike the last time I had left her, there was no movement from her whatsoever. Rumia was dead.

"She'll come back," Remilia said, noticing the fact that I was staring at Rumia's body. "Otherwise, I would've lost China a long time ago. Youkai are annoyingly resilient."

Nodding, I turned my mind to the matter at hand. After all, it wasn't like I had never seen/made a dead body before.

"Eirin went that way!" Remilia called out, pointing down the hall. "We must follow her!" Completely into it, Remilia ran down the hall, as everyone besides Patchouli followed behind her.

"I require rest!" Patchouli called after us, sitting down and breathing heavily. "I will rejoin you later."

"Right!" Remilia answered, as she reached the door Eirin had gone through. "Okay, get ready!" she said to us, placing her hand on the knob. "And... NOW!" She threw the door open, revealing...

Nothing. It was a completely empty room.

What?

"I was sure she had gone through here..." Remilia mumbled, confused.

"She did," Keine and I both said together.

"Wait," Sakuya spoke for the first time in a while, causing us to jump. "This room is... Odd. Step aside, mistress. This is my specialty."

Sakuya entered the room, knives at the ready. Slowly stepping to the center, she looked all around it, and turned back to us.

"It looks fiMMMF!" she vanished into thin air, leaving only a muffled scream behind her.

"Interesting..." Remilia thought aloud, motioning for me to enter.

"You can't be serious..." I groaned, walking inside.

"I'm going with Mokou," Keine stated, following me.

Following in Sakuya's footsteps, I walked to the center of the room, and waited, tensing up. I stared at Remilia, waiting for something to happen.

Remilia went blurry, as the rest of my surroundings followed. Something heavy hit me in the stomach, causing me to double over in pain, giving someone else an opportunity to strike me at the base of the neck.

Or at least, they would have. I moved to stand up as soon as I saw another attack coming, but didn't manage to avoid it in time. Instead, I only managed to make the attack miss its target by a few inches, hitting me in the back of my head, rather than my neck.

Rather than try to fight, I let myself crumple to the ground, still fully conscious. My head landed on my sleeve, blocking my view.

A few seconds later, I heard Keine cry out in pain, indicating that the same fate had befallen her, just like Sakuya.

"That's all of them?" I heard Kaguya's voice ask, sounding tired.

"If I'm not mistaken, there were two more, a vampire and a magician. They should be much more of a threat than the humans." Eirin's voice responded. It took all the restraint I had to avoid moving my arm out of my field of vision. But that would give me away.

"So, what do we do with them? Kill them?"

My heart stopped. Surely she wouldn't be so cruel...

"If you desire, princess, I will have them killed. I have been working on an antidote for the Hourai Elixir which I could give to Fujiwara no Mokou."

Mixed feelings... Would an escape from immortality at the hands of the one I lived to kill be considered an escape? No... It would be a punishment. A defeat.

"It was a joke, Eirin," Kaguya said, her lighthearted attitude returning. "Though I guess it wouldn't be so bad to feed Mokou the antidote. She seems to hate being immortal, and... You know, I can't stand the thought that someone has to suffer so much because of me..."

Really? Or was that just childish guilt? Kaguya retained a very childish personality, and, because of this, it was fairly easy to read her.

"Would it be relieving her if I forced her to take it?" Eirin asked, sounding thoughtful.

"Whatever is best for Eientei, I guess. That's your department."

"It was rhetorical. Very well, I shall have the delight of testing the antidote on the last of Gensokyo's Fujiwara Clan. Now, let's-" Eirin stopped suddenly, as footsteps drew near to me. "Wait, there's another one in the room. It appears we have our fourth victim."

"Surrender, you-" Remilia's voice called out, as she was struck twice in the same way Eirin disabled Keine and Sakuya.

Remilia, however, would not go down so easily. Although I didn't dare move my body, I could hear a struggle breaking out in the room, and even took the hit of a few stray attacks.

"Eirin, get her!"  
"Attacking a vampire at night? Fools!"  
"Silence!"  
"Take this!"

The shouts of a struggle filled the room, before everything suddenly went silent again. I only heard one person fall. Remilia had been defeated.

"Damn that vampire," Eirin's voice growled, as the sound of someone kicking something echoed through the room. "Where were we?" she continued in her calm tone. "Yes... The antidote. Call Tewi, I will have her bring Mokou to my chambers. The only one remaining is the magician. As you requested, you can ambush her."

Eirin's footsteps grew faint, going out of the room and down a hall.

"Alright, Eirin wanted me?" a voice came a few minutes later. It was a high pitched voice, so Patchouli was still recovering in the hall at Eientei.

"Yes, Tewi," Kaguya answered, sounding eager to ambush Patchy, "you see that person right there? The one wearing the pants and, yes, that one. Pick her up and bring her to Eirin."

"This one?" Tewi's voice appeared right next to my ear, as I felt two arms wrap around me and pick me up.

"Yeah, bring her to Eirin."

"Got it!"

I closed my eyes and let my head fall back as Tewi carried me off to some other part of the house. After walking about thirty feet, I was dropped a short distance, onto what must have been a table or a bench.

"Good, thank you," Eirin's voice said to Tewi, who said nothing and, judging by the sounds, hopped out of the room, leaving me alone with a psychotic genius.

"Let's see... Here it is," Eirin muttered, looking through her vials. "Sorry, Mokou, but humans aren't meant to live forever. After all, unlike my princess, you should have died over a thousand years ago."

Just a little longer... Wait 'till she's close...

"So, I finally get to do this. I can't say I'm not excited... Open up, Mokou..." Her hand grabbed my jaw, and the sound of a cork popping out of a glass container was heard.

My eyes shot open before another second could pass.

Standing above me was Eirin Yagokoro, holding a bottle of a mint green liquid, with a look of complete joy on her face. The look of a scientist about to dissect their first subject. Behind her I could see the thing most coveted by all scholars in Gensokyo: Eirin's laboratory. Shelves of books and ingredients covered the walls, while the floor was taken up by tables filled with odd instruments, jars, and beakers.

"You're awake?" Mokou called out in surprise, stepping over to her instrument table for something that I would most likely not want to know about. Carefully re-corking the container and setting it down, Eirin turned to face me. "And when I was about to make a scientific breakthrough!" Her voice was filled with disappointment, rather than anger. It seemed as if she really did care more for the scientific discovery than my life. I couldn't blame her, but still...

"Eeeriiiiiiiiiin!" Kaguya screamed from down the hall, causing Eirin to forget me and rush out.

Standing up slowly (My stomach was still in a lot of pain), I followed her as fast as I could, just in time to witness an amazing scene.

Patchouli Knowledge, looking as powerful as a deity and as terrible as a devil, was standing in the large room we had been transported to. Beneath her feet was a large, glowing rune inscribed in the floor.

And to top it all off, she was reading calmly, as if she was in her study. In front of her was Kaguya, who was being guarded by Remilia, Sakuya and Keine.

"So, it appears that we have reached a rather interesting situation," Patchouli said to Eirin without bothering to look up from her book.

"What do you want? And what do you have to threaten me with? Kaguya is immortal, you fool!"

"Well, true," Kaguya agreed. "However, I'd rather not get beaten to a pulp, if you can help it."

"So you see the problem," Patchouli continued, once Kaguya was finished. "Your princess does not want any harm to come to her, and we do not want any harm to come to ourselves. How do you propose we solve this?"

"Release the princess and leave immediately," Eirin answered calmly, making it sound like both an answer and an order.

"However, that would defeat the purpose of our invasion."

"And what is that?"

"I have come to gain access to your library and ingredients. Remilia and Sakuya have come to aid me. Fujiwara no Mokou has come..." she paused, and thought for a moment. "She has come for her own reasons, which I have not inquired about, and Keine has accompanied her."

"You want ingredients? Fine. Tell me whatever you want, and I'll give it to you. Lunarians such as myself have access to several plants unknown to humans."

"Why would I come this far if I was going to simply borrow a portion of your stock? I want your entire inventory. Books, ingredients, everything. Else, I believe Mokou intended to burn Eientei to the ground."

"You're insane!" Eirin screamed, completely losing her composure. "You're absolutely insane!"

"Actually, we're being quite reasonable," Remilia broke in, gesturing to Sakuya.

In an instant, Sakuya was behind Eirin, who let out a gasp.

"There," Remilia continued, smirking, "now we have the advantage. We were going to be fair, but that didn't appear to work. As mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, I order you to relinquish your entire stock!"

"Release my princess at once!" Eirin shouted, stepping away from Sakuya. "Yukari! Where are you? I will never forgive you for this!"

"Stop shouting, stop shouting!" A purple gap opened up in the floor, as the point of a parasol poked through it. Slowly, the parasol floated up out of the gap, as a long, blond haired woman dressed like a noblewoman. "I believe you called?"

Another flashback took hold of me, back to that night. Like the one involving Sakuya and Remilia, Yukari had attacked me for reasons unknown to me.

Or, unknown to me at the time. Kaguya...

In seconds, I was back to reality.

The legendary Yukari Yakumo...

* * *

A/N: Yeah... I wanna be like "It's almost over!" But... I don't have anything in mind. I'm just rolling with it.


	21. Yukari

A/N: If you noticed, the series is now T, rather than K+. I kind of realized how violent it was getting, and decided that it was better to be safe than sorry.

Anyway, yeah. It's almost summer! :D

* * *

**Chapter 20: Yukari**

Eientei  
Dawn of the 22nd Day

"Aaah, so that's it..." Yukari said, looking at Kaguya, Eirin, and finally Patchouli. "Interesting. I honestly did not think you would be this determined, Mokou. I applaud you for your efforts." Smiling, she began a slow, dull clap.

What should I say next? Her words were lost on me. "What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "Why would you have an interest in my revenge?"

"The balance of power, obviously," Yukari answered, seeming to look down on me, even though we were roughly the same height. "I cannot allow you to cause a major war by killing a Lunarian princess. And, after all, I was beginning to grow bored. Isn't that also your excuse?"

"So, you warned Eientei about my plan?" I asked, trying to comprehend why someone like Yukari would interfere.

"Do I look that simple?" Yukari laughed, sounding almost sympathetic. "No... No... Much more than that! A few words to Alice about a plan Marisa was cooking up, a few words to Rumia about getting revenge, it was all very simple. Not that I was trying to kill you. If I wanted you dead, I would have simply murdered you in your sleep. I just wanted to... dissuade you."

I could feel a wave of anger enter my brain. Every battle, every injury... All the work of this dark, hidden puppet master known as Yukari Yakumo. How much had she affected? Perhaps she convinced Remilia to join me. Perhaps she also convinced her to betray me. My death would also benefit Keine, as there would be peace in the area. And Eirin did want to study the effects of that drug on me...

The only way that all of this could have fallen into place so easily was, to put it simply, if this was a trap.

"How much... How much did..." I started to say, still dazed.

"How much did I do?" Yukari finished, smiling. "Oh, lots. I gave Eirin a few recipes, I showed Alice a few things she could do with that grimoire. Nothing major, but enough, nonetheless. You're in kind of a... special position, I guess. I can't kill you unless I have Eirin's help, because I don't care to bother with the finer details of medicine. However, even then, I don't want to kill you, because you're a fun toy. Every time you've tried this great plan for revenge, I've had the most wonderful time dismantling it."

"But I've tried to attack Eientei at least-"

"Five hundred and forty-eight attempted sieges, three hundred and twenty-seven of them were repelled before they even reached the building itself," Yukari began, rattling off numbers. "One thousand fifty-four lone assaults, one thousand fifty-four of them never got past the courtyard. Two hundred and thirteen attempts at getting others to attack for you, two hundred and twelve of them failed miserably. Thirty seven attempts-"

"Enough..." I muttered, my mind going blank. "Why haven't you shown yourself before now? Why is this time so significant...?"

"Well, Eirin called me. And besides, you've never gotten this far before," Yukari shrugged, before grinning maliciously. "Now that you know, you won't be as much fun anymore. You're starting to bore me, Fujiwara no Mokou. Eirin, do with her as you wish. I withdraw my support now. Good day."

"Wait, Yukari!" Eirin called out, wincing with pain as Sakuya put a little more pressure on the knife. "You can't simply leave us like this! Kaguya and I have a right to-"

Yukari shook her head. "You have a right to nothing. If you'll excuse me..."

Yukari opened a gap, and started to enter it. However, before she completely left us, she turned to Patchouli, who was still calmly reading with the circle under her feet.

"Nice book. The spell on the page after that is a particular favorite of mine."

And she vanished.

Once she left, the scene returned to how it was before she entered.

With one difference.

"Remilia, you haven't spoken with Yukari recently, have you?" I asked suspiciously, looking around the room.

"Nope," Remilia answered, guessing what I was thinking, "I'm not in on some large conspiracy or anything, and neither is Patchouli or Sakuya. I would know. Well, I might not know if Patchy was, but..."

"I am not." Patchouli said simply, scanning the pages. "Aaah, I see..." she muttered, flipping the page. "It would be playing into her hands, but..."

"What'cha lookin' at, Patchy?" Remilia asked, her voice thick with interest.

"Yagokoro Eirin," Patchouli boomed, looking up from her book. "Tell me, do you like this house?"

"What?" Eirin asked in disbelief. "What do you mean? I would give my life to defend Eientei, you disgusting, pathetic excuse for a magician! AGH! Get that knife out of me, you-"

"Quit now while you're behind, unless you _do_ want to give your life to defend Eientei," Sakuya hissed, applying more pressure. "I'd hate to leave a mess to clean up. After all, I do respect the duties of the cleaning staff."

"Back to the matter at hand," Patchouli said in a stern voice, "I believe that you have a simple choice. Surrender your supplies, or lose everything as we burn this place to the ground."

"If you give me Fujiwara no Mokou, I will make the negotiation much simpler by surrendering my supplies, rather than resisting."

"Agreed." Remilia and Patchouli said together, looking at me.

"What!" I shouted, as Keine stepped over to my side.

Kaguya, who had been sitting on the floor silently, watching with interest, stood up suddenly. "That's not a bad deal. I mean, you could keep her and try to fight us, but a lot of our inventory would be destroyed in the conflict, and these items are priceless historical artifacts..."

"Still!" Keine shouted, indignant, "You can't just hand over Mokou like she's nothing more than an animal! She's-"

"She used us to get revenge," Remilia interrupted coolly, "we're using her to get what we want. Fair is fair, right? Patchouli, Sakuya, let Kaguya go and tie up Mokou!"

"Yes, mistress!" Sakuya answered, pulling her knife out of Eirin's back.

Patchouli shook her head. "I need to stand ready with the spell, mistress. If it would not be disrespectful, may I suggest you handle the matter?"

"Right, didn't think about that. I'll be much faster, anyway. Patchouli, burn this place down if Kaguya and Eirin try to escape," Remilia ordered, as she and Sakuya advanced towards me.

I stepped back, readying a spellcard to fight off this betrayal.

"Don't try it, Mokou..." Remilia said slowly, grinning. "I could have Sakuya take you down before you could even blink. Let's do this easily, okay?"

I shook my head, and raised the card in the air. Taking a deep breath, I screamed, "PHOENI-"

I didn't get any further than that, as I felt a knife pierce my back. I looked down in disbelief to see blood dripping to the floor, as my head began to spin.

"Remilia..." I muttered, before I felt my head hit the floor. My world went black.

* * *

Eientei  
Time Unknown

"There we go..." a voice drifted above me, as Eirin Yagokoro's face swam into view. I tried to focus, but regretted it immediately, as a massive migraine took hold of me.

"Oh, don't strain yourself," Eirin said to me, as her face left me, revealing the wooden ceiling of Eientei. "You've lost a lot of blood, and I need you awake for this. It's a scientific thing, you see..."

I turned my head to the side, and saw that her shelves were completely bare, and her laboratory was completely empty, save for the table I was lying on, and the vial in her hand.

"I went through so much trouble to make this, so it's only fair that I'm the one that kills her..." Eirin muttered to herself, as she shook the vials contents.

"Oh, I apologize in advance for this. Obviously, I've never had anything similar happen to me, so I'm not going to waste my breath sympathizing, but I don't particularly enjoy cruelty. However, for scientific progress..." she droned on about the rationalization for her actions, as she continued preparing for what she was about to do.

"Done." she said after a few more minutes. "Open up, Mokou. This time, there's nothing to distract me."

I had nothing else to gain, nothing to wait for. Against my common sense, I sighed and opened my mouth, as Eirin uncorked the vial.

"Sorry, Mokou," she muttered, pouring the contents down my throat.

It felt like a lightning bolt had split my head open. I screamed, and returned to the welcoming void.

So this was what it was like to die...

* * *

Eientei  
Night of the 22nd Day

"You're sure she's human again?" Once again, I drifted into consciousness, greeted this time by my mortal enemy, Kaguya Houraisan. I tried to sit up, but I was still weak from before.

I was still weak...? This shouldn't be possible... I should have healed after this long...

Eirin! Eirin had succeeded! Eirin had undone the curse!

I was overjoyed! My life could finally end! I was finally mortal again! I was-

I was going to die, while my enemy still lived. I was going to leave my friend, giving her the fate that I wished to spare myself from.

Unable to comprehend my own thoughts, I remained silent, and went motionless. What do I do now...?

"It would appear so," Eirin answered Kaguya. "She still has the wound on her back, and it has been a full day. Therefore..."

Kaguya sighed, and shook her head. "You can't... undo it, can you? You can't make her immortal again...?"

"I don't have the ingredients, and our people would double their efforts to obtain my head if I repeated that mistake. It would not be wise to make more of the elixir."

"Mokou, I'm really sorry..." Kaguya mumbled, her voice choking up. "I'm really, really, really sorry. It was my fault that all this happened in the first place. I'm sorry, Mokou... Dammit! This isn't... I..." Unable to find the proper words, Kaguya turned away, and left me with Eirin.

"Fujiwara no Mokou," Eirin said to me, after Kaguya had ran out, "By Kaguya's command, I am to leave you unharmed, and allow you to live out the rest of your life. Therefore, you are now free to go where you please. I request that you leave Eientei immediately."

I stared at her in shock, trying to make sound come out of my throat.

"Oh, yes. You'll be needing this." She threw me another vial that she had hidden in the folds of her cloak. "Drink it, it'll help. Here, I'll do it..." She fed me the contents of the vial, and strength surged back into my body.

"You have about... fifty years, give or take five," Eirin said as she helped me up. "I suggest you don't waste what precious time you have left."

Fifty years... It seemed so short, compared to what I've already experienced... Was the human life really that short?

Keine. I had to see Keine immediately.

* * *

A/N: I really didn't want to end this...


	22. Keine, Part II

**Chapter 21: Keine, Part II**

Human Village  
Night of the 22nd Day

I can't exactly remember much of what happened between Eientei and the Human Village, but I probably don't want to. My head was swimming in thought, and I was drowning under all of it.

What was I supposed to do now? I never actually considered the end of my life, as much as I'd wanted it.

Killing Kaguya seemed pointless. I was doomed, taking another life with me would just be bad karma.

I had these issues to think about as I arrived at Keine's door. Hesitating momentarily, I knocked.

"M-Mokou!" Keine shouted, as she opened the door. "You're alive!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, just now realizing how little my supposed allies cared for me. "However..."

"Well, we thought that Eirin would do something to you. I certainly didn't expect you to enter into my home anytime soon. What happened?"

"Keine..." I began, wondering how to phrase this.

"Come on in. Tell me inside."

I thanked her and entered into her home. It was a lot messier than the last time I was here, suggesting that the residents of the Mansion had been here recently.

"Oh, yeah, Remilia, Patchouli, and Sakuya were here this afternoon. I still haven't had time to clean up after them," Keine remarked, as we sat down. "So, anyway, what happened?"

"Keine, I'm... I'm going to die."

Keine's eyes went wide, and she almost fell over. "What? Mokou, _what happened?_"

I told her about the events of the day, and she listened very attentively. When I finished my story, she stayed silent for a minute.

"I'm sorry, Mokou. I didn't expect them to do that to you... If I had known, I would've tried harder to stop them, and I... I'm... I don't know..." Keine sighed heavily, looking like someone had recently died.

"That's not my concern," I tried to comfort her, as my mind pointed to the real traitors. "The residents of the Scarlet Devil Mansion are the ones at fault. Surely-"

"Mokou, what have you spent the last one thousand years doing?" Keine asked suddenly, with a soft expression on her face.

"Attempting to avenge my father, and kill Kaguya," I answered truthfully, wondering where her question had come from.

"And to what end, Mokou? Kaguya's alive, Kaguya's immortal, you're not. A millennium well spent, right? When you could have been wasting your time trying to use your knowledge and longevity for the good of others?"

"I had to fulfill my duty!" I countered, feeling myself being backed into a corner.

"To what? A man who has been dead for centuries, and... And... Mokou, it wasn't Kaguya's fault! You know that as well as I do!"

"It was!" I screamed at her, unable to think of anything else to say. "She caused his death! It was Kaguya who-"

"It was Kaguya who made your father commit suicide, Mokou?" Keine asked me, sounding like she was pleading with me." She personally killed him, or did he make the decision?"

I was at a loss for words, searching for a way to counterattack her. There had to be some way...

"And now you're going to go and get yourself killed like an idiot! What have you done with your life, Mokou? What have you done besides hate Eientei?"

...

"No answer? Exactly. You haven't done anything with your long life. What's the expression... 'The base of a lighthouse is dark?' Anyway, you can't spend so much time looking at your future plans that you forget about the fact that you can do so much. And now... Now you're human, like the rest of us. How do you expect me to pity you?"

"I... I just..." I stammered, speechless. "You've won..."

"No! No! No!" Keine shouted, looking almost furious. "That's not the point! I'm not trying to win! Dammit, Mokou, why are you like this? Take what I've said and try and let your feuds go! Just... Mokou, it's my job to protect the humans of this village. In a way, that extends to you. If you can't let this go..."

She stood up, looking like a darkened rain cloud. "Forget it. It's late..." She shuffled out of the room, silently.

I sat there, alone, thinking about what she said.

Once again, Keine was right.

Trying to remain emotionless, I laid down on a bedroll and fell asleep.

* * *

Keine's House  
Morning of the 23rd Day

I woke up, and stepped out of bed, yawning.

As I walked out to the main room, I saw Mokou sleeping on the floor. This great, formerly immortal being, asleep on my floor. She looked so harmless...

I may have been a little too excessive last night, but I can't just stand by and watch my good friend destroy herself. As a schoolteacher, everyone assumes that I have a lot of mental strength, but...

I honestly considered giving Mokou a good kick to wake her up, both physically and metaphorically, but I decided against it. It would violate the basic rule of hospitality, one of the few rules that is still held sacred in Gensokyo.

Turning away from her, I entered into my kitchen, and salvaged what little ingredients that those demons (both literally and figuratively) from that Mansion had left. Enough to make eggs, fortunately.

Starting a small fire on my stove, I cracked the two unfortunate chicks into the pan, and reflected on the events of the past few days.

Eirin... You really didn't have to be that harsh with Mokou. But maybe it's for the best. Mokou seems like one of those people that will only find peace in death, not that I'd wish it on her. But still, if I could live that long, I would build a library to rival that of Patchouli's. Perhaps even the largest library in the world, though I really have no idea how large they are in the outside world.

Regardless, I'm really just a schoolteacher, who happens to be a were-hakutaku. Such things are really out of my league, but, then again, Mokou was just the daughter of a commoner.

Perhaps I'm lucky to not be immortal. I guess I could see where Mokou was coming from.

Still, with the status of medicine in Gensokyo, I've already used up close to a third of my life. I guess it was slightly hypocritical to lecture Mokou when I've done so little...

Mokou must have been bored all these years... Maybe hatred was how she filled that void? She seemed happiest, or, at least, most energetic when talking about Eientei. Attraction-aversion is funny, I guess.

Anyway, life goes on. As I finished cooking the eggs, I divided up the portions, one for me, one for Mokou.

Ahh, what's there to live for here? I have no intention of marriage, and I'm just a humble schoolteacher.

Perhaps people like me exist to help out people like Mokou. After all, I couldn't stand going through life without a purpose. Maybe that's why Mokou was like that...

The End

* * *

A/N: Thank you all very much for reading. To have this many readers is so much more than I deserve.

I'm sorry the ending was a little... lacking, but I didn't want to see this story crash and burn as I struggled to find new content.

Summer is starting, so I won't be silent for long, hopefully. It's been great writing this, and I've really enjoyed the last month as a result. When this idea popped into my head, I never would have expected it to blossom into this.

Ele, Anonymous Pyramid Head, and all other readers and reviewers, thank you very much! Your criticism and time has meant so much to me!

It's been fun.

Bye now!


	23. Breaking News!

The Bunbunmaru  
-Breaking News-  
Mokou's Millennium of Malice Meets Mortality  
By Aya Syameimaru

That's right, good little children of Gensokyo! The infamous immortal human, Fujiwara no Mokou has finally been cured of her immortality! For the past few days, this reporter has relentlessly pursued this subject through her journey. What this champion of truth found was shocking! Scandalous! Life-changing!

However, all that will be in next week's issue.

But fear not! I was able to secure an interview with the famous Mokou, after several attempts to pry information out of the ever-silent group at Eientei.

Here is the shocking truth:  
Bunbunmaru: So, you are Fujiwara no Mokou, are you not?

Fujiwara no Mokou: That is my name, yes. And who would you be?

BBM: Oh, just someone interested in spreading the truth to the good people of Gensokyo.

FnM: You're that... um...

BBM: I'm a journalist, to put it simply.

FnM: I was actually trying to think of a more fitting word, but I won't shatter your illusion. Anyway, I assume you're here to ask me questions?

BBM: You don't mess around, do you? Anyway, question number one: What do you have to say about the events of the last few days?

FnM: I don't think I understand. Can you be a little more specific?

BBM: You've had quite an ordeal, right? It originally started out as a quest for revenge, but look how it ended up! Surely, you have something to say!

FnM: I'm done talking to you. Leave. Now.

But fear not, loyal readers! Aya Syameimaru doesn't give up so easily! Later, I took the liberty of allowing myself entrance into Keine Kamishirasawa's house, where Mokou was hiding out. Always pursuing truth, I did not allow Mokou to get away so easily.

BBM: Mokou, may I have a word?

FnM: What are you- Fine. A short interview, and no more.

BBM: There we go, good to see you cooperating with the side of truth.

FnM: No comment.

BBM: Anyway, question number two: How do you feel about your friend, Keine Kamishirasawa?

FnM: You just answered that question in the question itself. As you said, she is my friend.

BBM: However, you two regularly risked your life for each other. Surely, there's something more?

FnM: A sense of camaraderie, after what we've been through together, perhaps. I refuse to even dignify what you are implying by playing along with you.

BBM: So, what you're saying about the rumors is-

FnM: No. We're not. We're friends, nothing more, nothing less. Look at Reimu and Marisa. Look at Eirin and Kaguya, or at Remilia and Sakuya. You don't see people making up wild accusations about them, do you?

BBM: Well, it's more like one person, rather than "people."

FnM: And that means...?

BBM: Nothing, of course. Absolutely nothing. Um, third question... Let's see... How do you feel about the residents of Eientei after all this? Do you still want to burn it to the ground?

FnM: What's the point? Exerting that much energy would only shorten my lifespan. Next question, please.

BBM: Is it true that you have a picture of Kaguya among your spell cards? Simply a rumor I heard, but...

FnM: Please stop inventing stories for your paper. If you haven't noticed, I've been deliberately trying to give you as little as possible, without you noticing. I know that if I just tell you to go away, you'll simply invent all sorts of troublesome things about everyone involved.

BBM: Ahh, but a champion of truth must go to any length to spread the news, right?

FnM: No comment. Goodbye.


	24. Extra Stage!

A/N: To explain... I was really tired when I wrote this. As in, I found absolutely everything to be completely hysterical. So, ignoring the fact that it was probably an atrociously horrible idea to write while sleep deprived, I created this monstrosity. This is completely unedited. So, yeah. Enjoy. Or not.

* * *

**EXTRA STAGE**

(I suppose that if I labeled my extras like this, the article would be Extra Stage, and this would be Phantasm Stage? Or maybe it's different routes, to the ending was Powerful, and the article was Uncanny? But it was a continuous plotline, and then an omake, so that would be Extra, and this would be Phantasm. So is the next one the Spellcard Practice? And after that, Options? I dunno. I'm tired.)

* * *

Eientei

The Near Future...

"Eeeeeiiiiiriiiiiiin!" that little brat screamed once again, assaulting my ears with her whining. I wish she would use my name with a tad bit more respect. After all, I [u]am[/u] the greatest sage in Gensokyo.

"Coming, Princess!" I called back, before completely forgetting her plea for "help" (odds are, she had forgotten a simple math sum, and expected me to rush to her aid. Was she an infant? Did she expect me to change her diaper as well? Of course, that was merely an expression. Kaguya has never worn diapers, as Lunarians do not require such things. I would know.), and turning back to a more important matter: Writing my scientific observations on Mokou.

Mokou... Let's see... She tried to be the vengeful type, but she fell kind of short. After all, I have experience in the field. I have spent centuries messing with the political and economic structure of Gensokyo over the slightest insults. I am not someone to be trifled with, darnit.

Back to the vengeful human. Let's see... She seemed to be in pain when fed the mortality elixir. Perhaps I could use that thing as a method of torture? Ingenious, Eirin. Brilliant as always. Why thank you. Keep going, I love to hear you dazzle the scientific world. Certainly. Now, where was I...

Ah, the pain. Yes, it seemed to be caused by an overstimulation (which, by the way, is now an actual word, as I, Eirin Yagokoro, have used it!) of the entire body. Understandable, as immortality and mortality are not stances that can be switched at will. It is a complex, painful process that must be-

Umm... Must be... What sounds good after this?

Forget it. I'm the only one intelligent enough to understand my writings in this dark age of knowledge, and Kaguya will only force me to read it to her.

Ah, I know what I'll do. That'll show that ignorant bitch of a so called moon princess. Damn her...

* * *

**EIRIN YAGOKORO'S MEDICAL JOURNAL**

**ENTRY #9001: FUJIWARA NO MOKOU**

Mokou was immortal. I feed her green vial. She is no longer immortal, but, rather, mortal.

Is that simple enough for you, you ingrateful moron? Can you not even comprehend this, with the brain that is unable to comprehend all I do for you? I slave away to make medical breakthroughs that will only be appreciated after some halfwit centuries from now claims to have invented them. Kaguya, my talent is wasted on you. Forget it. I'm going back to the moon, Yorihime Sisters or not. I'm a one-medic army, and I will tear down their defenses and go home, just to get away from you, you complete and total imbecile. Go find a way to properly hang yourself.

With love,

Eirin Yagokoro

Former Babysitter


End file.
